DK Shivakumar on Friday, 19 July, said the government will investigate all the scams that have taken place during the previous BJP government's tenure.
Published Jul 20, 2024 | 3:55 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 20, 2024 | 4:05 PM
LoP R Ashoka and Dy CM DK Shivakumar. (X)
The BJP in Karnataka on Saturday, 20 July, challenged the Congress government to order a probe into the “21 scams” that allegedly took place during the last five years, when the saffron party was in power.
The party accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah headed government of “shielding” those involved in the ₹187 crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
“The Chief Minister has said 21 scams have taken place during the BJP rule. You have been in power for the past 15 months. Why did you take so much time to investigate these scams? We are ready for a probe,” Leader of the Opposition Party (LOP) R Ashoka said in a press conference.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday, 19 July, said the government will investigate all the scams that have taken place during the previous BJP government’s tenure.
He alleged that the BJP government at the time had siphoned off over ₹300 crore from various departments.
Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, he said, “During the previous BJP government, headed by former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, there were scams in various departments amounting to ₹300 crore. We will reveal the details in the House.”
He was reacting to the BJP’s charges related to the ₹187 crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, including the illegal transfer of ₹88 crore to various bank accounts.
During the previous BJP rule, ₹87 crore from Bhovi Development Corporation, ₹47 crore from APMC, ₹22 crore from Disabled Welfare department, ₹5 crore from Ambedkar Development Corporation, ₹47 crore from Devaraj Urs Development Corporation, and ₹10 crore from KSPCB and KIADB had been illegally transferred to Salem in Tamil Nadu, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, alleged.
Asked if the government would investigate these scams, Shivakumar said, “We will certainly investigate them. We will reveal the details in the House as we want everything to be recorded. We will tell people that the ministers, corporation chairmen and chief ministers were involved in these scams.”
He said that BJP MLA and former Union Minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s had said that the chief minister’s post and minister’s post costs ₹2,500 crore and ₹100 crore respectively.
Another BJP leader Goolihatti Shekar had spoken about corruption in the Bhovi Development Corporation but the BJP did not investigate it, the DCM claimed.
“Debates are not allowed in the House for cases where the investigations are still ongoing, but we allowed it only to uphold democratic principles. We don’t want to protect any minister, MLA or an officer if guilty,” he added.
Ashoka said, “The way ₹88 crore of Valmiki Corporation was ‘Khata-Khat’ transferred to different bank accounts in Telangana, you should have ‘Khata-Khat’ investigated the allegations of irregularities against us.”
Ashoka, a former Deputy Chief Minister, accused Siddaramaiah of trying to put the blame on Valmiki Corporation and Union Bank of India officials apparently to shield Congress MLA B Nagendra, who resigned as the Tribal Welfare Minister and Valmiki Corporation Chairman Basanagouda Daddal.
“How much these officials would have taken? A very paltry sum. The large amount has gone to Congress leaders in Karnataka and Telangana where the Congress is in power,” the LOP claimed.
Shivakumar on Friday, said the Special Investigation Team team formed by the state government to investigate the transfer of ₹88 crore to Telangana from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation has already recovered ₹36 crore.
“The previous BJP government has covered up many scams and has tried to cover up many others. The Chief minister has exposed their scams such as Bit coin scam, Parashurama theme park scam, Gangakalyana scam, PSI scam, etc,” the DCM said.
Many documents were found in the residence of Yediyurappa’s personal assistant Umesh with regard to the illegal transfer of Rs 750 crore, and other scams of the BJP government, Shivakumar alleged.
Former BJP minister Eshwarappa too had lodged a complaint against Yediyurappa with the governor, he said, adding that investigations are on regarding that.
“The BJP government did not hand over the Guru Raghavendra Cooperative Bank scam amounting to thousands of crores (of rupees) to the CBI. We will discuss investigating that scam as well,” he said.
The alleged ‘scam’ came to light after the Accounts Superintendent of the Corporation Chandrasekharan P took his own life on 26 May.
In the suicide note, Chandrasekharan alleged that there was an illegal transfer of ₹187 crore belonging to the Corporation to various accounts.
The Congress government thereafter constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has so far arrested 11 people in connection with the case.
The CBI is also probing the case after the Union Bank of India lodged a complaint with it regarding the illegal transfer of money.
Nagendra, who resigned after the scam came to light, is presently in the Enforcement Directorate custody.
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