BJP demands excise minister's resignation after officer caught taking Rs 25 lakh bribe
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka on Sunday demanded that the state Excise Minister R B Timmapur should resign in the wake of the arrest of a Deputy Commissioner of the Excise Department, Jagadeesh Naik, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh.
Along with him, two other officials, Superintendent of Excise Thammanna K M and Excise Constable Lakkappa Gani, were also caught. According to Lokayukta officials, they have been accused of demanding Rs 80 lakh to issue CL-7 (Hotels & Boarding Houses) and micro brewery licence.
"Since Timmapur is the Excise Minister, we demand his resignation. If he doesn't step down, then we will be compelled to assume that this is an 80 per cent commission government," Ashoka said in a press conference.
He alleged that crores of rupees are being collected as bribes in the Excise Department in the matter of granting licences.
He said a recent incident in which Lokayukta officials caught an officer red-handed while taking a bribe for a single licence was proof of this corruption.
Ashoka alleged that since the excise department comes under the finance ministry, and the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, is directly responsible for the corruption.
Ashoka also played an audio alleging that the Excise Deputy Commissioner Naik was in conversation with the excise minister.
"The Congress kept asking for evidence. There is audio saying bribes must be paid to the minister. It says the minister's money has to be given, money has to go to four tables in the Excise Department, everyone has to be given a share, and it has to reach the minister. It even says that if money is paid quickly, licences will be given on the spot. Is this a government?" he asked.
Ashoka further alleged that drug and liquor abuse have increased in the State and that the police department is steeped in corruption.
Speaking on the occasion, the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy alleged that corruption worth Rs 3,542 crore has taken place in the excise department.
"If the CM does not remove Timmapur, it will clearly indicate the CM's role as well. We will fight this politically and legally," he warned and said that the BJP will launch an agitation.
The Minister dismissed the charges.
Speaking to PTI, he said why he should be held accountable for someone misusing his name.
"If someone has done something wrong and misused my name, then we will suspend him. What can I do if the Excise DC misuses my name? Why should I resign for it?" Timmapur said.
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Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 15 dead, forcing thousands to flee
Penco (Chile) (AP): Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.
“All resources are available,” Boric wrote on X.
But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.
“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Firefighters were struggling to extinguish the flames, but strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts Sunday with temperatures topping 38 C (100 F).
Residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.
“Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."
Although the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear, one municipality of Concepcion in Biobio reported 253 homes destroyed.
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.
Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.
“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”
