Vijayendra tried to bribe Minority Commission head with Rs 150 crore on Waqf issue: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Dec 14: The Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday alleged that the BJP state president B Y Vijayendra "tried to bribe" the former Minority Commission Chairperson during the previous BJP government, Anwar Manippady with Rs 150 crore to suppress investigations into the Waqf property encroachment.
He even claimed that Manippady had written to the Prime Minister about this corruption.
“Anwar Manippady had publicly stated that Vijayendra visited his house during B S Yediyurappa’s tenure as CM and offered ₹150 crore to keep silent about the Waqf property encroachment report. He has further stated that Anwar sent Vijayendra out of his house and reported this incident to PM Modi and the BJP President,” Siddaramaiah said in a statement issued to media.
There is no immediate reaction either from Manippady or Vijayendra.
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“What happened to Modi’s grand ‘Na khaunga, na khane doonga’ promise? His silence on this explosive allegation raises suspicions and several questions. Why is the BJP leadership shielding Vijayendra and others involved in the Waqf property loot?” the Chief Minister asked.
He alleged that the BJP, under former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai, was already notorious for issuing record notices related to Waqf properties.
“Now, with these bribery allegations and Vijayendra’s rising role in BJP despite serious charges, it’s evident that Karnataka has become the BJP’s ATM,” he charged.
The Chief Minister also alleged that the Vijayapura BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal had accused Vijayendra of paying Rs 2,000 crore to secure his father Yediyurappa’s Chief Ministership.
“From COVID procurement scam to Waqf property looting, skeletons are tumbling out of the BJP’s closet in Karnataka. Instead of answering these allegations, BJP is resorting to baseless accusations against our leaders to divert attention,” Siddaramaiah said.
He said Modi should break his silence and order a CBI inquiry into these allegations immediately as “the people of Karnataka deserve answers, not cover-ups”.
This statement comes against the backdrop of BJP MLAs staging a walkout from the Assembly on Friday as ruling Congress members allegedly tried to obstruct Leader of Opposition R Ashoka from raising the Waqf issue.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
