Graft case returns to haunt BS Yediyurappa, Karnataka minister too booked over kickback allegation

Other accused mentioned in the FIR are Cooperation Minister Somashekar, who was the then Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) chairman, and GC Prakash, IAS, a bureaucrat who was the BDA commissioner in 2019, during Yediyurappa’s tenure as chief minister between 2019 and 2021.

How was the FIR filed?

RTI activist TJ Abraham has alleged that ₹12 crore was received as kickbacks by the accused in the case to clear contracts for BDA.

Activist TJ Abraham on whose complaint the case against Yediyurappa and others has been filed. (Supplied)

Abraham had filed a private complaint in July 2021 seeking a probe into the case, which was quashed by a special court on grounds that it required sanction for prosecution.

However, when Abraham appealed in the Karnataka High Court recently, the court said there was no need for sanction for prosecution, following which the special court directed the Lokayukta police to register an FIR and investigate the graft case.

In 2011, Yediyurappa had to resign as chief minister of Karnataka after being indicted by the Lokayukta in the infamous illegal mining case. He also became the first former chief minister of the state to go to jail over allegations of receiving kickbacks in exchange for land denotification in the same year.

The current case

Abraham, in his complaint, has alleged that the accused, including Yediyurappa, received kickbacks to the tune of ₹12 crore to clear a contract for a construction company to build a housing complex for the BDA.

This particular case pertains to awarding the tender for the construction of BDA apartments at Konadasapura in Bidarahalli in Bengaluru. The complaint alleges that the accused took kickbacks from a builder which were routed through shell companies owned by them.

“Yediyurappa, on 26 September, 2020, on the floor of the Assembly had challenged senior Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah. Yediyurappa said let there be any kind of inquiry or investigation by the CBI, Lokayukta, or the high court and that he was ready to face them,” the complainant Abraham told South First.

“But Yediyurappa does not stand by his words. He has already approached the Supreme Court asking for the order of investigation by the Lokayukta to be quashed,” Abraham added.

Case in an election year

The Lokayukta registering a graft case against Yediyurappa and his son has come at a time Karnataka is switching into election mode.

The former chief minister was planning a major campaign throughout the state to strengthen the party’s presence.

His son Vijayendra is the state vice president of the BJP, Karnataka.

However, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai maintained that Yediyurappa and all the other accused would come out clean in this case too.