Bengaluru: When Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the setting up of a commission last week to inquire into alleged irregularities in the Kalyana Karnataka Regional Development Board (KKRDB), it was around the 10th such commission formed since the Congress took office last year in Karnataka.
The government appointed retired IAS officer Sudhir Kumar to “further probe” alleged irregularities involving around Rs 300 crore in spending in the KKRDB, a board constituted to oversee development activities in north-eastern Karnataka, and other affiliated bodies.
This came after Siddaramaiah announced in September the formation of a five-minister committee, headed by home minister Dr G. Parameshwara, to oversee all other commissions of inquiry and advise the government on how to investigate 21 alleged cases of corruption during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
A majority of the commissions of inquiries formed so far are to probe allegations of corruption against or during BJP’s rule between 2019-2023.
“The idea is to ensure we keep a tight leash on the investigation so that they can submit the report quickly to the government,” Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s rural development & panchayat raj minister and a member of the five-minister committee, told ThePrint.
“There are also a lot of inter-departmental issues that they (inquiry commissions or probes) were facing. This committee is ensuring that none of those things happen and there is quick disposal of everything,” he said.
Several committees are yet to submit their reports or their findings have been sent to cabinet sub-committees for further scrutiny, which the BJP alleges is a ‘tactic’ used to keep the sword hanging over the Opposition. The opposition BJP has accused Siddaramaiah of diverting attention from his alleged wrongdoings by setting up commission after commission to instill a “false image” in the minds of the people.
For instance, Siddaramaiah said last Sunday that a cabinet sub-committee would review the findings of Justice Michael D’Cunha’s report on alleged irregularities in the spending of over Rs 2,140 crore by the BJP in the procurement of essential supplies like PPE kits, medicines and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The chief minister’s back is against the wall with mounting allegations of corruption–both against him personally and against members of his cabinet.
The BJP continues to attack the Siddaramaiah government, including the allegation that proceeds of corruption in the excise department, to the tune of Rs 700 crore, were being used for elections in Maharashtra where the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi takes on the BJP-led Mahayuti to take control of the western state.
“In Karnataka, every day there are new allegations of corruption coming up. This means that the Congress is looting the people of Karnataka. The allegation is that they are sending this same loot money for elections in Maharashtra,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an election rally in Maharashtra’s Pune on Sunday.
He even compared Congress-ruled states like Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh to “ATMs” from where proceeds of corruption have been diverted to poll-bound states.
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s allegations in Pune, Siddaramaiah said that there should be a “limit to lying”.
“Their government (BJP) is the one indulging in corruption. In our government, we have not indulged in corruption, nor will we ever,” he told reporters in Mysuru Wednesday. “Narendra Modi is lying. (He said) In the excise department (scam) we made Rs 700 crore. If they can prove that we have made even Re 1, I will retire from politics. Will he retire as PM?” he added.
‘Commissions of inquiry’
As the BJP and Congress slug it out, Karnataka has set up multiple commissions, committees, internal probes and special investigation teams probing various allegations of corruption. They also include probes into misappropriation of funds during the pandemic, the police sub-inspector recruitment scam, 40 percent bribes allegedly collected by the BJP’s Basavaraj Bommai government to award public projects or for clearing of bills and the siphoning off of funds from the state-run Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC).
The Congress government has also ordered the formation of SITs or special investigation teams to probe allegations of rape against former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s grandson, Prajwal Revanna, and a series of serious charges against BJP MLA Munirathna.
The BJP accuses the Karnataka government of being vindictive.
“By setting up these inquiries, they are trying to threaten the Opposition and give a false image in the people’s mind … Nothing is going to come out of this,” Arvind Bellad, the BJP’s Deputy Leader of the Opposition, told ThePrint on Wednesday.
He added that Siddaramaiah was “vindictive” and continued to go after the Opposition with nothing to show for so far.
The Congress used the ‘40 percent commission’ allegations made by the Karnataka State Contractors Association as its main poll plank in the run-up to the 2023 assembly elections.
The ‘PayCM’ campaign, highlighting graft allegations against Basavaraj Bommai’s government, helped the Congress return to power with an absolute majority.
The Congress dismissed accusations of being vindictive.
Kharge said that the Congress government was going by documents, invoices and GST bills submitted by the BJP government. “We cannot create this out of thin air,” he said.
But the BJP isn’t the only one under the scanner.
Since its return, Siddaramaiah’s government too has faced allegations of corruption, including one against the chief minister himself. Some commissions are probing corruption allegations against the Congress or those that took place during its rule since May 2023.
This includes the allotment of 14 high-value plots to Siddaramaiah in Mysuru and the diversion of around Rs 90 crore from the state-run Valmiki development corporation, which was meant for the welfare of the SC/ST population. In September this year, a special court in Bengaluru directed the state-level anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokayukta, to carry out a probe in the MUDA scam. Siddaramaiah has been accused of getting 14 high-value plots allotted to himself by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority or MUDA.
Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, has since returned the plots but the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other agencies continue the probe.
The PM and the BJP have used this to target the Siddaramaiah government as well as the Congress party on various platforms.
In July, Siddaramaiah acknowledged that nearly Rs 90 crore from the Valmiki corporation was diverted. The ED had arrested the then Karnataka minister for tribal welfare, sports and youth affairs, B. Nagendra, in connection with the case. He is currently on bail.
On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said that the government will consider reinducting Nagendra back into his cabinet.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)