Lokayukta recovers Rs 6 crore unaccounted cash from BJP MLA's son's house
Bengaluru (PTI): Lokayukta sleuths recovered unaccounted cash of more than Rs six crore from the house of BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa's son Prashanth, close on the heels of his arrest after allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.
Following the Lokayukta action against his son, the BJP MLA tendered his resignation as KSDL Chairman, even as he claimed that the raid by the anti-graft agency was a conspiracy against him and his family.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai promised an impartial probe into the matter.
Prashanth, the chief accountant of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught red-handed on Thursday evening while accepting the bribe from a contractor at the Karnataka Soap and Detergents Limited (KSDL) office.
Within hours of the trap, a team of Lokayukta officials raided his house and recovered the unaccounted cash.
Virupakshappa, MLA from Channagiri constituency in Davanagere district, is the chairman of KSDL and Prashanth was allegedly receiving "first installment" of the bribe on behalf of his father, according to Lokayukta sources.
Virupakshappa on Friday tendered his resignation from the post.
In his resignation letter sent to the chief minister, he said there is no "relation" between him and the Lokayukta raid, which he termed as a conspiracy against him and his family.
"Despite that since an allegation has been levelled against me, I am taking moral responsibility and submitting my resignation from the post of KSDL Chairman". he said.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (Retd) B S Patil said on Friday Rs 2.02 crore was recovered from the KSDL office and Rs 6.1 crore from Prashanth's house.
"Five persons (including Prashanth) have been apprehended and they have been taken into custody", he said. FIR has been registered. Meanwhile, Bommai promised an impartial inquiry and said those who have committed any wrongdoing must be punished. "This is the stand of the government".
He pointed out the incumbent government re-established the Lokayukta to check corruption.
"In the absence of the anti-corruption institution so many incidents had taken place during the Congress regime and were also hushed up", the Chief Minister said.
"Congress ministers and MLAs had 59 charges (against them) but it was hushed up as there was (only) ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau). Once that is enquired by the Lokayukta, truth will come out", he said.
The action against Prshanth was proof that the Lokayukta has been revived to contain corruption unlike the previous Congress regime which created a separate ACB apart from the Lokayukta to "cover up their wrong deeds," Bommai said.
Due to the lack of a strong Lokayukta in the past, many corruption cases during the Congress regime could never get investigated, Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru.
"We have been repeatedly saying we will conduct impartial probe. Our stand in this case as well is that the independent Lokayukta institution will carry out impartial investigation and whoever has done wrong will face action. There is no change in our stand," Bommai said.
"All the information and the money found there everything is now with the Lokayukta. Let an independent and justified investigation take place. Our objective is that the truth should come out like whose money it was and for what purpose it was meant," he added.
Regarding Congress state president D K Shivakumar's statement that this incident was a proof that the current BJP government is 40 per cent commission government, Bommai said there were many corruption charges against Congress MLAs and ministers but they covered it up by creating the ACB.
He also said many corruption cases during the Congress regime have been given to the Lokayukta, which will investigate and bring out truth.
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
