Will retire from politics, if proved I have taken money in single case of transfer: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): With JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy repeatedly attacking him and his son Yathindra, a former Congress MLA, accusing them of a "cash for transfer" racket, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said he will retire from politics, if proved that he has taken money, even in a single transfer case of government officials.
He alleged such cash for transfer happened during Kumaraswamy's tenure.
"I have told you not to ask about it (Kumaraswamy's allegations). Haven't I responded to it already? Let him tweet (post on X) a number of times. He is speaking about what they did during his tenure (as CM)," Siddaramaiah said in response to a question about Kumaraswamy's attacks.
Speaking to reporters here, the chief minister said, "He (Kumaraswamy) is speaking about the money they (Kumaraswamy and JDS leaders) took for transfers. They took money during his tenure. In our tenure, we have not taken any money. I have already said -- I will retire from politics, if it's proved that I have taken money in even a single case of transfer."
"Let him tweet a hundred times, I don't want to reply," he added.
Kumaraswamy had recently sought to link a phone conversation between Yathindra and Siddaramaiah, which was widely circulated on social media, to allege a cash for postings/transfer' scam, a charge which has been rightly rejected by the chief minister and his son.
Continuing his attack, Kumaraswamy has even alleged that an official, whose name was mentioned in a phone conversation between the CM and his son, had figured in the transfer list of police inspectors released recently.
Further accusing Yathindra of acting like a "Super Chief Minister", the JD(S) leader had even sought the resignation of Siddaramaiah over a video clip.
The former chief minister today too, in a series of posts on 'X', on the issue, accused Siddaramaiah of outsourcing his Varuna constituency in Mysuru district to his son Yathindra.
Yathindra from 2018-23 had represented the Varuna segment, and in 2023, he gave up the seat to his father Siddaramaiah to contest from his home seat for one last time, and himself did not contest from any other constituency.
"The people of Varuna have chosen you (Siddaramaiah). You have to do their work yourself. Why outsource the constituency to your son? I never outsourced the constituency to my son when I was CM. You have outsourced Varuna to the son," Kumaraswamy posted.
Noting that as far as he knows, no CM has ever outsourced his constituency to children, he accused Siddaramaiah of giving power to his son, through the backdoor, by ensuring him a Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) post in the segment. "Is there any provision in the constitution that allows this? If so, let me know."
Further stating that as far as he knows, CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility, Kumaraswamy said, "Now it has become Corrupt Son Of Siddaramaiah! Have you outsourced to your son -- to do CSR collection in the state? Is he in-charge of CSR for 224 constituencies (in the state)? You seem to have your eye on the 2 per cent CSR as well.
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BJP stages walkout in Karnataka assembly over 'non-disbursal' of Gruha Lakshmi payout
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The opposition BJP on Wednesday staged a walkout from the Karnataka assembly protesting the alleged "non-disbursal" of two months' installments to 1.26 crore beneficiaries under a woman's assistance scheme of the state government.
The protest followed a heated debate in which the opposition accused the state government of providing "misleading" information regarding the payment status of the flagship Gruha Lakshmi scheme.
The saffron party members trooped into the well of the House and raised slogans, leading to the adjournment of the proceedings of the House for over an hour.
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The Gruha Lakshmi guarantee scheme is one of the five pre-poll promises of the ruling Congress. It provides Rs 2,000 monthly to women heads of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
The BJP legislators accused Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar of having "misled" the House by giving false information to BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai that all the instalments till August have been paid under the scheme.
The opposition charged that the installments for the months of February and March this year were not paid.
The BJP MLAs' grouse was that they had been demanding an explanation from the Minister for the past three days, but she never turned up to provide information.
As soon as the session started, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House demanding the Minister's presence, which led to the adjournment.
When the members assembled again, the Minister replied that this is a unique flagship programme of the Congress government, which is a model for all the states.
Hebbalkar said she always strived to ensure that this scheme is implemented religiously.
"However, when I checked, I noticed that two months' installments were not paid to the beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). If my reply has hurt anyone, then I express my regret," she said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who came to the defence of Hebbalkar, said the BJP should apologise for the lie in the Union Budget.
"Despite the Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing Rs 5,300 crore for the Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project in the budget, the money was not given to Karnataka. You should question that as well," Shivakumar underlined.
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To this, Leader of Opposition in the assembly R Ashoka said the matter was raised because not only were the BJP members hurt but also the 1.26 crore beneficiaries who were eagerly waiting for the money.
Demanding that the lie be expunged from the House records, he insisted on a date for when the backlog will be paid to the beneficiaries.
The Minister said she was apologising for giving a wrong reply, but she was peeved at the way a woman was targeted in the House.
Objecting to this statement, BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar asked her to refrain from playing victim card and bring up the issue of gender, caste and religious discrimination as it was a matter related to 1.26 crore people.
Ashoka and the BJP MLAs then staged a walkout, saying the Minister's reply was not satisfactory.
