Was letter to Karnataka Governor alleging corruption fake or real? Siddaramaiah orders CID probe

The Opposition BJP demanded the resignation of the Agriculture Minister over alleged bribery demands from the taluka-level Agriculture Department officials.

Additionally, JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and BJP state president Nalinkumar Kateel have criticised the chief minister for defending the Cabinet minister, who has been accused of corruption, and questioned the sanctity of the Raj Bhavan.

Also read: Karnataka Governor seeks probe against agriculture minister

Siddaramaiah says letter ‘fake’ 

Responding to the Governor’s Secretariat letter, the Chief Minister called the letter fake and hit out at the BJP in his series of tweets.

In a tweet, Siddaramaiah wrote, “It has come out that the letter in circulation in public domain is fake. The Joint Agriculture Director has already clarified that no officers in the district have written such a letter.”

ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ರಾಜ್ಯಪಾಲರಿಗೆ ದೂರು ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬರ್ಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾಲತಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಿದಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ಪತ್ರ ನಕಲಿಯಾದುದು ಎಂದು ಬಯಲಾಗಿದೆ.

ಅಂತಹ ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು ಯಾರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲ ಎಂದು ಮಂಡ್ಯದ ಕೃಷಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ಜಂಟಿ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಹೀಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಈ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆ ನಡೆಸಿ, ಅಗತ್ಯ ಕಂಡುಬಂದಲ್ಲಿ… pic.twitter.com/kPR5TQColK

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 7, 2023

“I will get the matter investigated; I wonder whether the BJP was behind it. Are you (BJP) the creator of such a fake letter spreading slander against the government or your brother?” the Chief Minister asked.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Department Mandya Joint-Director Ashok VS has filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police demanding an investigation into the fake complaint registered with the Governor in the name of AADs.

The Mandya district police have launched a probe based on the complaint.

Also read: BJP MLA accused in bribery scam resurfaces after anticipatory bail

CM orders CID probe

While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called it a fake letter and accused the BJP and their “brother” — an apparent reference to HD Kumaraswamy — of “creating it”, he told reporters that he had ordered a probe into the matter.

“With regard to the purported letter written by the agriculture officers against the Agriculture Minister, it has been decided to conduct a CID inquiry,” Siddaramaiah said.

“The chief minister decided to hand over the matter to the CID after discussing with Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara,” said the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the chief minister told reporters that he had ordered a police inquiry. “I have told the police to inquire into it. Chaluvarayaswamy has called it fake because the joint-director of the Agriculture Department also issued a statement that it is fake and has complained to the police. I have told the police to investigate and ascertain the truth,” he said.

Seven Assistant Agriculture Directors of Pandavapura, Malavalli, Mandya, Nagamangala, Madur, Srirangapatna, and Krishnarajapete had allegedly written a letter to Gehlot, complaining that the Agriculture Minister had demanded ₹6-8 lakh bribe and was exerting pressure through the Joint-Director of Agriculture to pay the bribe, stated the Governor’s Secretariat letter.

They AADs also threatened to die by suicide with their families if such a “tradition” of demanding bribe is not controlled. The Governor sent the letter to Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma to investigate and initiate appropriate action.

Also Read: Karnataka looks to use SCP/TSP funds to implement poll guarantees

Joint-director files police complaint

In his one-page letter addressed to the Mandya Superintendent of Police, JD Ashok pointed out, “The issue circulating in the media is that the Agriculture Minister is harassing the Assistant Agriculture Directors of the Department of Agriculture by demanding money. In our district, there are posts of AADs in a total of seven talukas. Of the seven talukas, the posts in Nagamangala and Srirangapatna are vacant, where in-charge officers have been named. I have consulted all the AADs regarding the complaint application to the Governor. None of them have filed any complaint to the Governor.”

He added, “Neither the minister nor his staff have demanded any money from the agriculture officers and no one has harassed them. The signatures in the complaint do not belong to any of the seven officials.”

“There is a possibility that the information circulated in the media is false and someone has maliciously filed a complaint in the name of our officials to the Governor,” he continued.

“All the AADs have also filed a complaint to probe into this fake letter and initiate action against those who are spreading a bad name about the department,” JD Ashok, said as he appealed to the police to conduct a proper investigation.

SP Yatish told South First, “We have already taken statements from all the Assistant Agriculture Directors. We are working on ascertaining the origin of the letter. The probe is underway.”

He also said that the district police have not communicated with the Governor’s office on the matter.

Also Read: Siddaramaiah rules out central agency probe into Udupi college row

Opposition hits out at Congress 

Opposition parties BJP and JD(S) have hit out at the Siddaramaiah-led government for supporting the Agriculture Minister and questioning the sanctity of the Raj Bhavan.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy tweeted, “The shameless Chief Minister who justifies the disgraceful acts of the ministers has descended upon the state.”

“The ‘Siddha Kale’ (expert art) of justifying the extortion by the minister is disgusting and nauseating. If the letter was fake, will the Governor’s office ‘falsely’ write to investigate it?” asked Kumaraswamy.

ಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳ ಮಾನಗೇಡಿ ಕೃತ್ಯಗಳನ್ನೂ ಸಮರ್ಥನೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಲಜ್ಜೆಗೇಡಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ ಈ ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ವಕ್ಕರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ!! ಸಚಿವರ ಸುಲಿಗೆಯನ್ನೇ ಸಿಗ್ಗಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಸಮರ್ಥನೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ‘ಸಿದ್ದಕಲೆ’ ಅಸಹ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ವಾಕರಿಕೆ ತರಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ. 1/5#YstTax #CashForPosting

— ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ.ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ | H.D.Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) August 8, 2023

He added, “Has the Governor responded to the false letter? Should the preachers of ‘Rajadharma’ suspect the sanctity of the ‘Raj Bhavan’? This is no compliment to the self-proclaimed pseudo-constitutional expert.”

The BJP too lashed out at the Congress government in Karnataka. Kateel tweeted, “The people of the state now have a ‘guarantee of corruption’. The ‘high command’ has given a collection task to the ‘ATM Sarkara’.”

“The ministers are putting pressure on the officials. Now, it is Minister Chaluvarayaswamy’s turn. Was it instructed in the high command meeting to collect using officials?” asked Kateel.

ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವುದು ಕಮಿಷನ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರ!
'ವ್ಯಾಪಾರಸೌಧ'ದಿಂದ ಗ್ರಾಮಪಂಚಾಯ್ತಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಕಮಿಷನ್ ಸರ್ವಸ್ಪರ್ಶಿ, ಸರ್ವವ್ಯಾಪಿ!

ಹಣ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಕಮಿಷನ್ ಕೇಳಿಲ್ಲವಾದರೆ, ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆದಾರರು ಆಣೆ ಪ್ರಮಾಣ ಮಾಡಿ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರಲ್ಲ ಈ ಚಾಲೆಂಜ್ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸುವ ತಾಕತ್ತು #ATMSarkara ದ ಸಚಿವರಿಗೆ ಇದೆಯೇ ?

— Nalinkumar Kateel (@nalinkateel) August 8, 2023

He alleged that it has become the Congress’ strategy to call all the letters against them fake to mislead corruption cases. “Now, by calling the letter against Chaluvarayaswamy fake, this government is insulting the dignity of the Raj Bhavan and the Governor’s action,” alleged Kateel.

(Inputs from PTI)