Will investigate all scams of previous BJP govt: Deputy CM D K Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Jul 19 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said the government will investigate all the scams that have taken place during the previous BJP government's tenure.

He alleged that the BJP government at the time had siphoned off over Rs 300 crore from various departments.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, he said, “During the previous BJP government, headed by former chief ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, there were scams in various departments amounting to Rs 300 crore. We will reveal the details in the House.” He was reacting to the BJP’s charges related to the Rs 187 crore scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation, including the illegal transfer of Rs 88 crore to various bank accounts.

During the previous BJP rule, Rs 87 crore from Bhovi Development Corporation, Rs 47 crore from APMC, Rs 22 crore from Disabled Welfare department, Rs 5 crore from Ambedkar Development Corporation, Rs 47 crore from Devaraj Urs Development Corporation, and Rs 10 crore from KSPCB and KIADB had been illegally transferred to Salem in Tamil Nadu, Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, alleged.

Asked if the government would investigate these scams, Shivakumar said, “We will certainly investigate them. We will reveal the details in the House as we want everything to be recorded. We will tell people that the ministers, corporation chairmen and chief ministers were involved in these scams.” He said that BJP MLA and former Union Minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal’s had said that the chief minister’s post and minister’s post costs Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 100 crore respectively.

Another BJP leader Goolihatti Shekar had spoken about corruption in the Bhovi Development Corporation but the BJP did not investigate it, the DCM claimed.

“Debates are not allowed in the House for cases where the investigations are still ongoing, but we allowed it only to uphold democratic principles. We don’t want to protect any minister, MLA or an officer if guilty,” he added.

Shivakumar said Special Investigation Team team formed by the state government to investigate the transfer of Rs 88 crore to Telangana from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation has already recovered Rs 36 crore.

“The previous BJP government has covered up many scams and has tried to cover up many others. The Chief minister has exposed their scams such as Bit coin scam, Parashurama theme park scam, Gangakalyana scam, PSI scam, etc,” the DCM said.

Many documents were found in the residence of Yediyurappa’s personal assistant Umesh with regard to the illegal transfer of Rs 750 crore, and other scams of the BJP government, Shivakumar alleged.

Former BJP minister Eshwarappa too had lodged a complaint against Yediyurappa with the governor, he said, adding that investigations are on regarding that.

“The BJP government did not hand over the Guru Raghavendra Cooperative Bank scam amounting to thousands of crores (of rupees) to the CBI. We will discuss investigating that scam as well,” he said. PTI