IMA Ponzi scheme; MLA Baig fails to turn up before SIT
Bengaluru, Jul 15: Former Karnataka minister and Congress MLA R Roshan Baig Monday did not turn up before the special investigation team probing the alleged IMA Jewels ponzi scheme saying he had some urgent work.
The MLA wanted to appear on July 25 but the SIT directed him to depose on July 19 instead, SIT said.
"Regarding the appearance of MLA Mr Roshan Baig, before the SIT, he has consented to appear before SIT on July 25. But due to the necessity of speeding up the investigation on the part of the SIT, a second notice is served to him to appear on July 19," the SIT said in a statement.
A former minister in the previous Siddaramaiah government, Baig landed in the IMA controversy after the company owner Mohammed Mansoor Khan alleged that Baig took Rs 400 crore from him but did not return it.
The MLA had refuted the charges calling them baseless and frivolous.
Baig has been sulking for quite sometime and had flayed party leaders Siddaramaiah and state president Dinesh Gundu Rao for the party's poor show in the Lok Sabha election. The party later suspended him for his "anti-party" activities.
At the height of the resignation drama in Karnataka, he joined the bandwagon of 16 MLAs who tendered their resignation from the assembly, pushing the ruling coalition to the verge of collapse.
Hours after his resignation on July 9, the SIT served him a notice asked him to appear on July 11 but the MLA sought time and said he would appear on Monday but did not turn up.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Mansoor Khan in a video message on YouTube said he would return to India "within 24 hours" to refund money to the investors.
He said he wanted to come early but due to health issues he could not. He claimed he had high diabetes and blood pressure and that there were three blockages in his heart.
"By the grace of God, I will back to India within 24 hours. I have faith in the Indian judiciary," Khan said in the video.
He added that once he landed in India, he will hand over documents and details to the police department.
"We will try to get the money back from those who extorted from me and took bribe," he said.
READ ALSO: Will return to India in 24-hours, fight legal battle to return money of investors: IMA Chief Mansoor
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case against the IMA group of companies and Mohammed Mansoor Khan after reports emerged that he has gone underground fearing investments worth crores of about 40,000 investors have tanked.
Before he went missing, Mansoor Khan threatened to commit suicide saying that corruption in the state government as well as the central government pushed him to the wall.
The SIT has arrested 21 people so far, including the deputy commissioner of Bengaluru urban district and an assistant commissioner of Bengaluru North sub-division, who allegedly took bribe from Khan for covering up the case.
A Muslim cleric is also among the arrested, the SIT said.
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Criticism of PM Modi, repeated mentions of guarantees to be highlights of K’taka Budget: LoP Ashoka
Bengaluru (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka on Thursday took a dig at CM Siddaramaiah ahead of the state Budget presentation, claiming that the government is expected to borrow Rs 1.15 lakh crore and is likely to impose fresh taxes on the people.
He said the Budget would have nothing new, adding that its highlights would be criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes ('Shakti', 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti, 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya').
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the 2026–27 Budget on March 6. This will be his record 17th budget.
“Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s budget will be presented tomorrow. While Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reduced the tax burden in the Union Budget, Siddaramaiah is known for imposing taxes on people. He imposes about four taxes a month and has already introduced 36 taxes, and is now looking for ways to impose more,” Ashoka said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Congress had promised people before coming to power that the guarantee schemes would be implemented without imposing any burden on them.
“By the end of the chief minister’s term, the state’s total debt will probably exceed Rs 6 lakh crore. The government has already breached financial discipline. Siddaramaiah and his government are somehow managing the situation,” Ashoka claimed, adding that his borrowings as CM equal those of 12 or 13 former chief ministers combined.
Stating that the Budget should create higher revenue sources, ensure that no burden is placed on people, and take the state away from debt, the opposition leader said this could be ensured only by a “clever and intelligent finance minister.”
“Anyone can run a government by pushing the state into debt,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of “increasing the state’s debt and failing to meet the expectations of the people.”
Highlighting that Siddaramaiah blames the previous BJP government for everything, Ashoka said Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister during the previous BJP government, had presented a “surplus budget,” without excessive borrowings.
“Despite having the opportunity to borrow more while staying within the parameters of financial discipline, he (Bommai) did not do so, as it would burden the people,” he said, accusing Siddaramaiah of borrowing crores of rupees every year.
“I feel that this time too, he will take a loan of Rs 1.15 lakh crore,” he claimed.
The BJP leader said he had written to the CM requesting an allocation of Rs 15,000 crore annually for the development of backward taluks, as recommended by the High Power Committee on Redressal of Regional Imbalance (HPCRRI), chaired by economist Prof M Govinda Rao.
Claiming that the government appears “inactive” due to internal rifts, Ashoka pointed to an ongoing power struggle between factions led by Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar over the CM’s post.
“Amid all this, we cannot expect anything new from this Budget. The CM will repeatedly speak about the guarantee schemes and target the central government and PM Modi. Criticising Modi and repeated mentions of the five guarantee schemes will be the highlight of this Budget. Other than that, there will be nothing new,” he added.
He also dismissed the CM's claim that the government had achieved 90 per cent of the promises made in the previous Budget. “The fact is that not even 9 per cent has been achieved. I have evidence for it,” he said.
Ashoka further alleged that the government had also failed in tax collection, achieving only 48 per cent of the target, and had released less than 40 per cent of the allocated funds to some departments.
