PSI recruitment scam: Opposition trying to mislead probe, says Karnataka Home Minister Jnanendra
Kalaburagi (K'taka)(PTI): Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Friday said the opposition is desperately trying to mislead the investigation into the police sub-inspector recruitment scam with their statements as "their involvement is coming to the fore".
He was replying to a query on Congress leader Siddaramaiah's allegation at a press conference on Thursday that the size of the scam was around Rs 300 crore.
"Former chief minister Siddaramaiah has got the freedom of speech. He can say Rs 200 crore, Rs 300 crore or Rs 3,000 crore but he runs away when we ask him to furnish the proof he has. Priyank Kharge (Congress MLA) doesn't come even after a notice was served to him (to appear before the CID)," Jnanendra told reporters here.
The Congress stalwart had also demanded a judicial probe saying that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was not competent to investigate the matter given the alleged involvement of police officers, ministers and top politicians in the scam.
Jnanendra charged that the Congress leaders were only trying to mislead the investigation.
"In the given circumstances, the only thing they know is to mislead the direction of the investigation. It's nothing but some Congress leaders who are trapped. Their involvement is coming to fore, due to which they are giving such statements," the Home Minister said.
He charged that Congress leaders have also resorted to defaming "our upright (Higher Education) minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan". The Home Minister said the government was ensuring the investigation is done independently without any influence.
"Let Congress leaders talk whatever they want. We will get it investigated properly. We will go to the root cause of the issue. We will make sure that those involved in the wrongdoings in the PSI recruitment scam should think twice before indulging in such practices in future," Jnanendra said.
Congress' Karnataka unit chief D K Shivakumar had earlier this week suspected the involvement of Dr Ashwath Narayan's relative in the scam, which the latter rubbished saying these were baseless allegations as part of a smear campaign against him.
Meanwhile, former Bengaluru police commissioner and Aam Aadmi Party leader Bhaskar Rao said the ruling BJP has been maintaining that such scams had taken place during the Congress regime as well instead of taking action against those bigwigs who are involved in the scam.
The allegations and counter allegations are only to silence people and make them forget the issue after some time, Rao said at a press conference on Friday in Bengaluru.
He said if a former chief minister of the state is saying that the size of the scam is Rs 300 crore then that should be investigated.
"If a former chief minister's statement has no value, then will the government respect the statements of a common man? All that the government has done is transferring an additional director general of police. If the ADGP opens his mouth, then both the political parties will land in soup," Rao told reporters.
The government has annulled the PSI recruitment exam after large-scale irregularities came to the fore.
Over 35 people including a BJP leader Divya Hagargi, the principal of a college in Kalaburagi, a few police officers, and the gunman of a Congress MLA have been arrested in connection with the case.
The exam was conducted in October last year to fill up 545 posts and over 54,000 people had written it. It is alleged that Rs 75 lakh was collected from a few candidates by middlemen.
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
