40% goes to Ministers; 20% to contractor profit; 15% for GST

Mysore/Mysuru: What was meant to be a one-on-one interaction with former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Siddharamaiah this morning, turned out to be a one-hour electoral speech session where he blamed the BJP for corruption.

There was little chance for the reporters to ask questions and the interaction became a monologue. He even dismissed the resignation of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad as ‘irrelevant’ and shied away from a volley of questions posed by journalists on various issues, citing time limit and his urgency to leave.

The interaction was organised by Mysuru District Journalists Association (MDJA) at Patrakarthara Bhavan on Thyagaraja Road and soon after Siddharamaiah arrived, he started his speech, targeting the BJP Government and calling it ‘unholy’ and ‘unethical’. In the process of his talk, the former CM demanded a judicial probe into the allegations made by the State Contractors Association President D. Kempanna.

“Let a High Court Judge probe the allegations made by Kempanna. It must be an independent investigation. Or let the CBI investigate,” Siddharamaiah said.

“Truth must come out. I will call it a 50 percent Commission Government as all the Ministers are shamelessly demanding commissions for even small works in the districts and Constituencies,” Siddharamaiah charged.

Tearing into the way development works are being initiated in Karnataka, the senior Congress leader said, “Any work, big or small, is taken up on a commission basis. 40 percent of the money goes to the Ministers, 20 percent is the contractor profit, 15 percent is the GST and the works are taken up with the remaining 25 percent of the grants. What quality can you expect from this,” he asked.

Diversion tactics

Whenever someone talks about corruption, bad governance and other issues, they divert to sensitive issues like throwing eggs, eating meat and other religious and emotive issues. The CM and his Ministers give readymade answers to all allegations, he added.

“The Government is saying that the Contractors Association must produce records of corruption. Are the Ministers so dumb to keep a record of transactions? Only an independent probe will unearth the truth. Kodagu District Contractors’ Association President Ravi Changappa has said that Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah has taken a bribe of Rs. 2 crore to reinstate suspended senior PWD officer Srikantaiah back to his post. This is shocking,” the former CM stated.

“The contractors told me that they have not come across a more corrupt Government. By declining a judicial probe which will establish the facts, the Government is indirectly admitting to the prevalence of corruption. The contractors are ready to furnish documentary evidence and are also prepared to face legal eventualities if they are proved wrong,” he said. 

During the interaction, Siddharamaiah spoke highly about his Government and the welfare measures taken up by him as CM. “I handed over five cases to the CBI as there was an indication of corrupt practices. I dare the BJP Government to do the same,” he challenged.

Five cases to CBI

“I will take the matter to the People’s Court if Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai does not accept the demand of setting up a committee headed by a sitting Judge to probe the allegations,” Siddharamaiah said, announcing his election strategy.

“By denying a judicial probe, the Government is accepting corruption, if not involved, why are you afraid of the inquiry? Why take shelter by saying there is no evidence? They (contractors) are saying that they have so many documents and are ready to produce it before the Judicial Commission if it is constituted,” he said, adding that according to contractors, pending bills are to the tune of over Rs. 22,000 crore.

MDJA President S.T. Ravikumar, City Vice-President Anurag Basavaraj,  General Secretary M. Subramanya and City Secretary P. Rangaswamy were present.