Contractors to re-appeal to PM Modi on 40% commission allegation against Karnataka BJP government

Contractors miffed

The association’s president Kempanna D told South First, “We are going to write to the prime minister requesting immediate action against ongoing corruption in the state government. This Independence Day, he said corruption was the first enemy of the country, and we want him to act on his words.”

He added, “After getting the nod of the executive committee meeting on 24 August, we will send the letter to the prime minister demanding immediate intervention.”

On Wednesday, members of the contractors’ association met Siddaramaiah, the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.

Sources told South First that the members urged the Congress leader to raise the matter in the upcoming legislative session.

“We urge you to also demand a judicial investigation into this largescale corruption,” the members told Siddaramaiah, according to reliable sources.

No action on first request

In 2021, the contractors’ association wrote to Modi alleging that Karnataka ministers and legislators demand commissions to approve development projects.

The Union government responded in July 2022, when an official of the Ministry of Home Affairs reached out to the association head, Kempanna.

But there was no action from the ministry. As per Kempanna, the official sought all details and documents pertaining to the issue but did not take any action.

‘No trust in state government’

The Karnataka government has come under fire from the association for not addressing their grievances.

“The incumbent Chief Minister BS Bommai was also approached on the corruption issue. Because we have no trust in the state government, we are forced to take help from the Central government,” said Kempanna

The association claimed that a sum of ₹22,000 crore was pending with the state government in dues to the contractors for works undertaken.

Deceased contractor’s family approaches court

Meanwhile, following a clean chit by the Udupi Police to BJP leader KS Eshwarappa in the abetment-to-suicide case of contractor Santhosh Patil, his family has approached the court. Santhosh Patil’s brother Prashanth Patil approached the Special People’s Representative Court in Bengaluru with a plea that the investigation wasn’t satisfactory.

“The court has now sought call record details of KS Eshwarappa and his associates accused in the case. We are not happy with the police investigation in my brother’s death case,” Patil told reporters on Wednesday.

Santhosh Patil, a Hindutva outfit leader and government contactor, was found dead on 12 April this year in a hotel room in Udupi.

For months prior to his death, he had been vocal about K S Eshwarappa — the former minister for rural development and panchayat raj — and his associates demanding bribes to clear pending bills.

He had also written to the Central government with allegations of corruption against Eshwarappa. Following Patil’s alleged suicide, Eshwarappa was forced to resign from the Cabinet on 15 April.

Government marred by corruption allegations

In the runup to the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka, the BJP-led state government has been found riddled with allegations of corruption.

Be it from the contractors’ association to the judiciary, the state government has been on the receiving end.

The Karnataka High Court last week slammed the government and said corruption was rampant in government offices. “No file moves without a bribe in the government offices” were the words of the single-judge bench.

On a similar note, the court on 11 August scrapped the state Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB), calling out its inaction on corruption in the state.