Kumaraswamy hits out at Congress, says it has continued East India Company's corrupt legacy
Bengaluru, Aug 04: Alleging rampant corruption in the Congress government in Karnataka, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday said a Minister has demanded ''certain percentage'' from contractors in his department, while in Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) officers have been told to collect Rs 250 crore to be ''delivered to Delhi''.
On his arrival in Bengaluru from Europe trip with the family, the former CM also hit out at Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar for claiming that a plot was being hatched in Singapore to topple the government and said the former has made such claims as he probably knows that this government will not complete its term. ''Couple of days ago, in a department, the Minister asked contractors to give a certain percentage, I got this information during my Europe trip. When the contractors association decided to have a meeting with the Minister on getting to know about the demand, 2-3 agents at the Ministers office told them they can go in if they have got money,'' Kumaraswamy said.
Speaking to reporters at the airport late Thursday night, referring to the ''entire'' state cabinet meeting the Congress leadership in Delhi recently, he asked, ''Will such people after going before Rahul Gandhi in Delhi and discussing corruption, stop corruption and bring a transparent administration?'' The anti corruption image the Congress wants to build is only for the outside world, Kumaraswamy said. ''If I have to tell you the true story of Congress, that party is for 'Vasooli' (taking bribery). East India Company (British East India Company) left us, but they handed over the administration of the country to the Congress party before leaving, the grand old party has continued East India Company's corrupt legacy.'' Within two months of coming to power the level of corruption in the Congress government was rampant, he said, adding, ''BDA officials have told me that they have been told that Rs 250 crore has to be collected to be sent to Delhi, and they will be given the list.'' When told Shivakumar is incharge of BDA, where he has alleged corruption, the former CM said, ''he has taken it (department) for that reason....to make (Bengaluru) Singapore.'' Despite being on a foreign tour he was gathering day-to-day developments in the state, Kumaraswamy said, adding the way in which ''transfer business'' took place in the police department will cause disrepute to the force.
''If you bring down police officials to this level, to what extent will they provide protection to the common people?,'' he asked, When the meeting took place between senior officials, the Home Minister and the CM regarding police transfers, a certain ''YST tax'' people were present there, he claimed, without taking any name.
Criticising the functioning of the present administration, he said now it has put those transfers on hold.
Kumaraswamy was referring to Karnataka government's decision to keep transfer of police inspectors in abeyance until further orders, a day after it transferred 211 police inspectors across the state. According to reports, the decision to put transfers on hold was taken after some party leaders and legislators expressed displeasure.
Noting that Shivakumar claimed that a plot is being hatched to topple the government after he left for a family trip, the JDS leader said, ''It shows how much our intelligence department is functioning. I had left that night with my brothers and sisters and entire family to European country for a 15-day trip, but in the morning a situation was created as though I was trying to bring down this government in Singapore'' It shows the fear the Congress has towards him and JD(S), despite it winning just 19 seats, he said. Shivakumar might have said it, as most probably he knows that this government will not complete its term.
''He (Shivakumar) follows astrology more than us. He makes different kinds of conspiracies with the help of astrology. The artificial strength he has got from it during the election -- he knows that the artificial strength will not stay for long, so might have made such statements,'' he added.
To a query regarding veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa too going on a foreign trip around the same time when he was not in the country, Kumaraswamy said he might have gone with his family and sought to know why should it be politicised. Clarifying on having ''friendly ties'' with BJP, he said, ''No, as an opposition party, when the public money is looted, it's my duty to work in the opposition, so I have raised my voice. Has BJP developed the state?'' Hitting back, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, Kumaraswamy is a known ''hit and run case always''.
Pointing to Kumaraswamy accusing the Congress government of corruption with a claim that he was ready to give a pen drive that had proof, the CM asked, ''did he prove that? There should be proof (of corruption) to release. Will he keep it in his pocket?''
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Duleep Trophy: Pacers shine as India B beat India A by 76 runs
Bengaluru, Sep 8: KL Rahul's gumption, which helped him pile a patient fifty, found no resonance among his colleagues as India B pacers led by Yash Dayal pushed India A to a 76-run defeat on the fourth and final day of their Duleep Trophy match here on Sunday.
Chasing 275, India A were bundled out for 198 in their second innings as left-arm seamer Dayal (3/50), with able support from his colleagues Mukesh Kumar (2/50) and Navdeep Saini (2/41), led the India B attack.
Rahul top-scored for 'A' with a 51.
In the first session of the day, India B made 184 all out in their second essay to muster a handy overall lead of 274.
The India A chase began on a shaky note as Mayank Agarwal departed in the second over itself, wafting Dayal away from his body to Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made a wonderful diving catch at second slip.
That brought Riyan Parag to the middle and the right-hander followed the path set on Saturday by Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan.
Parag took on the bowlers and pacer Mukesh bore the brunt of his aggression, getting smoked for two sixes and the second maximum touched the roof of the Chinnaswamy Stadium over the mid-wicket region.
Parag added 48 runs for the second with a rather subdued Shubman Gill, who was dropped by Nitish Reddy at slips off Mukesh on 16, and 31 came off the former's bat in just 18 balls.
But the approach was tough to sustain considering the kind of assistance the bowlers were getting here, and soon his massive hoick off Dayal took an edge off Parag's bat en route to stumper Rishabh Pant.
Gill (21) departed soon, falling to Saini for the second time in the match and on this occasion, he edged the pacer to Pant.
Dhruv Jurel poked Dayal well outside off-stump to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully, as India batters perished to a combination of bowlers' persistence on that channel and their own carelessness.
They took the lunch at a queasy 76 for four that soon transpired into 99 for six after the dismissal of Shivam Dube and Tanush Kotian, an hour into the lunch.
However, Rahul batted out 180 minutes 121 balls and milked 42 runs for the seventh wicket with Kuldeep Yadav to delay the inevitable.
The standout shot in an otherwise dour innings was a whistling on drive off Mukesh that fetched him a boundary.
But Mukesh had his revenge soon when Rahul feathered a cut off him to Pant, who completed five catches in this innings, soon after reaching his fifty with a single off Saini.
It effectively signalled the end of the road of for India A, though Akash Deep (43, 42b, 3x4, 4x6) gave a few moments of fun with a cavalier innings.
But beyond the entertainment value, it always was a case of when more than if.
Earlier, resuming from their overnight score of 150 for six India B could only 34 runs more to the total before getting bundled out.
Pacer Akash, whom Sarfaraz Khan carted around for five fours in a row the previous day, found his mojo to add the scalps of Washington Sundar and Saini to complete a five-wicket haul (5/56).
The spell will keep his name floating among the contenders when the selectors sit together soon to pick up squad for two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
