Bengaluru: The ministers of the present Cabinet who involved in corruption would be sent to prison within 48 hours of BJP coming to power in the next Assembly elections, according to B S Yeddyurappa, president, Karnataka BJP unit.
Addressing the BJP activists taking part in a protest against corruption and failure of Siddaramaiah government in front of the Town Hall here on Monday, Yeddyurappa said the corruption is rampant in the department of irrigation and revenue departments. “Inquiry will be ordered into all corruption cases of Siddaramaiah government. All those involved in corruption will be sent to prison,’’ Yeddyurappa said.
Stating that he would stand by the allegations made against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah receiving kickbacks of Rs 65 crore in the steel flyover project, Yeddyurappa has challenged Siddaramaiah to prove his allegations wrong. “I am ready to retire from politics if Siddaramaiah proves me wrong,’’ Yeddyurappa said.
The BJP state president said the information about the kickbacks was available in the diary seized by Income Tax officials from Siddaramaiah’s close aide Govindaraju. “I need not tell Siddaramaiah how I got the information on the diary seized from Govindaraju’s residence. I challenge Siddaramaiah to avail information on it by writing a letter to the Income Tax officials. Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote a letter to Lokayukta seeking a probe into the kickbacks in the steel flyover project. It indicates that what has written in the diary is true,’’ he said.
He said the irregularities worth crores of rupees have taken place in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Rs 3.50 crore of property tax was not deposited in BBMP’s account despite the revenue inspectors having issued receipts to property owners for the tax collected from them. “BJP corporators will stage organize protest meets on the rampant corruption in the BBMP. The Income Tax officials have raided residences of Minister for Small Scale Industries Ramesh Jarkiholi and Karnataka State Mahila Congress Committee president Laxhmi R Hebbalkar and seized unaccounted cash worth crores of rupees. I want to know on what basis Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has allowed Ramesh Jarkiholi to continue as the minister,’’ he said.
He blamed Siddaramaiah for making false allegations against him despite Court gave him clean chit in corruption cases. “Siddaramaiah has been busy in looting the state as soon as he became the Chief Minister. Though the court acquitted me in corruption cases, Siddaramaiah has been raising the same issues again and again. He is politicizing the court judgment,’’ he said.
