Bengaluru: Adding to the troubles of CM Siddaramaiah, another private complaint has been lodged against him and others in the Special Court for MLAs in Bengaluru, alleging a Rs. 68 crore fraud in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Senior BJP leader N.R. Ramesh filed the complaint yesterday, seeking permission to initiate a criminal case against Siddaramaiah and others.

The complaint also names Energy Minister K.J. George, former Principal Secretaries Lakshminarayan and Major P. Manivannan, former BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad, among others.

Bus shelters for advertisements

Ramesh submitted the complaint under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, claiming that during Siddaramaiah’s previous tenure as CM from 2013-2018, the State Government misused 493 bus shelters owned by BBMP to promote the achievements of the Government without paying the requisite fee of Rs. 68.14 crore to BBMP.

The complaint alleges that despite prior petitions filed with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Lokayukta, which were supported by records, the Government used these bus shelters for promotional activities between 2015 and 2017 without paying any advertisement fees.

Ramesh highlighted BBMP’s limited revenue sources, such as property taxes, map approval fees, trade licence fees, road digging fees and advertisement fees, while the civic body bears an annual expenditure of Rs. 10,000 crore for employee salaries and infrastructure      maintenance.

He further stated that the BBMP, through its Special Commissioner (Finance), had issued a ‘Demand Notice’ on July 5, 2017, to the Siddaramaiah-led Government, demanding Rs 12.98 crore in unpaid fees. However, this notice was ignored.

Pressure on Lokayukta Police

Ramesh also alleged that after Siddaramaiah resumed office as CM, he exerted influence on the Lokayukta Police, leading to the quiet closure of the Rs. 68.14 crore ‘advertisement fee scam’ case on July 26, 2024, without any formal notification.

Despite providing complete records of the alleged scam, the Lokayukta Police, under pressure, closed the case, he claimed. As a result, Ramesh filed a private complaint in the Special Court for People’s Representatives, seeking an order for investigation against Siddaramaiah and the other accused.

The complaint, formally registered as a Private Complaint Register (PCR), seeks a Court-directed investigation.