Karnataka CMO cash gift to journalists: Complaint filed against Basavaraj Bommai with Lokayukta

“It is alleged that this payment of money as part of Deepavali gift in a sweet box amounts to serious allegations of bribery to gain undue advantage in hiding and hushing up various allegations being published/broadcasted against the government led by the chief minister of Karnataka,” reads the complaint letter by JSP, shared by its co-President Adarsh R Iyer with South First.

In its complaint, JSP has demanded the Lokayukta to file a criminal case against Chief Minister Bommai and his media coordinator for bribery, corruption, misappropriation of public funds.

Congress demands judicial inquiry

The primary Opposition party in Karnataka, Congress, has demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. Alleging that the BJP government in the state was trying to bribe journalists, Congress has sought to know the source of the money stashed in the Deepavali gift box.

Quoting South First’s report, AICC leader and Steering Committee member Randeep Surjewala sought to know if central investigating agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) Department would take note.

The #40PercentSarkar seeks to bribe the journalists with ₹1 Lakh cash!

Will Mr. Bommai answer-

1. Isn’t it “bribe” being offered by CM?

2. What is the source of ₹1,00,000? Has it come from Public Exchequer or from CM himself?

3. Will ED/IT take note?https://t.co/ch8rUB6hIv

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) October 28, 2022

Several leaders of the Congress as well as activists like Prashant Bhushan quoted South First’s report to demand accountability from the BJP government in Karnataka.

Several journalists in Karnataka were left baffled on Saturday, 22 October, when a Deepavali gift box from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s office came with an envelope containing ₹1 lakh in cash.
Openly trying to bribe the media! A firsthttps://t.co/ByCIlkuxWu

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) October 28, 2022

BJP deems allegations ‘lies’, sets up internal inquiry

With anti-corruption outfits filing a case with Lokayukta and Opposition party demanding a judicial inquiry, BJP has deemed the allegations lies.

“Congress is consistently firing in the air against the state government. All these allegations are not true. The Congress seems to have forgotten that DK Shivakumar had given out iPhones as gifts in the past,” BJP Karnataka’s official handle tweeted on Friday night.

No spokesperson or leader of the party, however, commented on the cash gift allegation directly.

Sources in the BJP told South First that even though the allegations are false, the party’s central leadership has set up an internal inquiry into the matter to figure out the how’s and what’s of the controversy.