Rs 500 crore irregularities during BJP rule in K'taka found in audit of KEONICS: Priyank Kharge
Bengaluru, Nov 9: Karnataka Information Technology and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday alleged that there were close to Rs 500 crore of financial irregularities in the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) during the previous BJP government.
The IT-BT minister claimed that the then BJP government did not merely charge a 40 per cent commission', as his party had claimed during the assembly election, but had collected a commission of more than 400 per cent.
He also asserted that ever since he took over as a minister after the Congress came to power, not a single order was passed in KEONICS nor did any procurement take place through the agency.
"The audit report shows financial irregularities close to Rs 500 crore, which have taken place from 2019 to 2023. The previous BJP government was not a mere '40 per cent commission government' but it had gone up to 400 per cent commission. This is not me but the audit report that is saying this," Kharge said at a press conference.
The minister's statement came as some BJP leaders alleged that a KEONICS official demanded a bribe of Rs 38 crore to clear bills to the tune of Rs 300 crore. They even accused Kharge of being involved in it.
Kharge said an investigation has been ordered, and that the changes in the rules for accountability and transparency that the Congress government is introducing will create trouble for many former ministers and MLAs. This is why they are making these baseless allegations, he said.
"The BJP has been alleging that bill payment is not being done. Ask them how many bills are pending. Have they done any home work or produced any document to support their allegation? The pending bill is worth Rs 16.27 crore. Ever since we came to power, payments were made to only manpower agencies," the minister explained.
According to him, only those bills are pending where third-party inspection has not taken place.
He also charged that after Congress came to power, we stopped the business' that was going on for the past three to four years, which annoyed them," adding, "If we go into the roots to find out the origin of this accusation, we know on whose beat they are dancing."
Admitting that some bills may not have been cleared, the minister said that genuine vendors whose bills are due have not raised an issue. Stating that government never holds back the money of any individual, he said they will get the money after verification.
In a press note, the minister revealed some of the findings of the Accountant General Audit Team.
There was an extra burden of Rs 47.76 crore on the client departments' due to procurement of items and goods at higher rates between 2018 and 2023, he said, giving the details.
For example, KEONICS spent Rs 24.15 lakh on each of the computer labs set up in the tribal welfare department, whose market value was only Rs 5.09 lakh. KEONICS procured 40 such units which led to a financial implication' (loss) of Rs 7.63 crore, he explained.
A payment of Rs 76.5 crore was made without conducting a third-party inspection. Further, Rs 71.5 crore was paid without obtaining photo proof and the inspection report.
Using a forged third-party inspection report towards the supply of material, payment of Rs 9.98 crore was made. The auditors also found two sets of delivery challans before and after the supply of goods, he said.
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Nearly 91 lakh names deleted from Bengal electoral rolls after judicial scrutiny under SIR
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 91 lakh voters have been deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal following the Special Intensive Revision exercise in the state, according to data released by the Election Commission.
The poll panel is yet to officially announce the finally altered voter base for the state after the roll revision process.
From the available figures, however, the total deletion in the state at this point, based on the 7.66 crore electors identified at the end of October last year, stands at over 11.85 per cent.
The final deletion figure, since the beginning of the SIR process, stood at a little over 90.83 lakh.
Over 27.16 lakh of 60.06 lakh 'under adjudication' voters have been deleted during the now-concluded scrutiny by judicial officers, the EC data said.
The figure shows that some 45.22 per cent of the cases under judicial scrutiny following the publication of the post-SIR electoral rolls on February 28 were deleted.
More than 32.68 lakh of those in the 'under adjudication' category have been retained and included in the final rolls.
The EC figures showed that maximum deletions were recorded in the Muslim-majority district of Murshidabad, where over 4.55 lakhs of the 11.01 lakh names under judicial scrutiny were removed from the electoral rolls, taking the under-adjudication deletion figure in the district to around 41.33 per cent.
Significant deletions were also recorded in the Bangladesh-bordering North 24 Parganas district, where over 3.25 lakhs of the 5.91 lakh under-scrutiny electors were found not eligible to vote, and in Malda, where over 2.39 lakhs of the 8.28 lakh under judicial review voters were deleted.
The deletion figures following adjudication in South 24 Parganas district stood at nearly 2.23 lakhs, in Purba Bardhaman district at 2.09 lakhs and in Nadia at 2.98 lakhs, the EC data said.
In terms of percentage, post-adjudication deletions in Nadia and North 24 Parganas – districts which are perceptively dominated by the Hindu namashudra Matua community members – were at a whopping 77.86 per cent and 55.08 per cent respectively.
Over 28,000 voters were deleted in Kolkata South, which comprises Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Bhabanipur assembly constituency, pegging the deletion percentage during adjudications at 36.19.
Some 39,000 under-scrutiny voters in Kolkata North were found not eligible to vote, pinning the deletion percentage there at nearly 64.
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According to official data released on February 28, 63.66 lakh names, around 8.3 per cent of the electorate, were deleted since the SIR process began in November last year, reducing the voter base from about 7.66 crore to just over 7.04 crore.
More than 60.06 lakh electors, who were placed in the "under adjudication" category, were part of the 7.04 crore voter base.
Voters, aggrieved with their name deletions from the final rolls, have the option to move the tribunals, specially set up under Supreme Court orders in the state, but there is no clarity yet on whether electors found eligible by the tribunal judges will be able to exercise their franchise in the upcoming polls.
“The revision exercise has been carried out in a phased and transparent manner. District-wise data has now been placed in the public domain to ensure complete accountability," a senior EC official said.
Of 60,06 lakh voters under adjudication, data for 59.84 lakh have been formally published, and the remaining 22,163 cases have been disposed of but are yet to be e-signed, he said.
“Once the pending procedural formalities, including e-signatures, are completed, there may be marginal changes in both deletion and inclusion figures,” the official explained.
The entire exercise has been undertaken in compliance with established guidelines, he said.
"Any further inclusion at this stage will be subject to legal provisions and directions, if any, from competent authorities," the official said.
Meanwhile, with the publication of the final supplementary list, the electoral roll for the first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections has been “frozen” after midnight on Monday in accordance with prescribed norms, he said.
Of the 294 seats in the assembly, 152 seats will go to the polls on April 23 in the first phase, and the remaining 142 seats will vote in the second phase on April 29. The rolls for the second round will be frozen on April 9.
“There will be no further inclusion in the electoral roll at this stage. The list stands frozen as per law following the last date of nomination for the first phase,” a senior Election Commission official told PTI.
“Any change in this list will depend solely on fresh directions, if any, from the Supreme Court," he said.
The Apex court, before which the SIR matter for West Bengal is being argued, will be hearing the case next on April 13.
