Will retire from politics if I have taken money for transfers: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he would retire from politics if it is proved that he has taken bribe for transfer of officials. He termed as 'figment of imagination' JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's allegation that transfer business' was going on in a big way under the Congress-led government in the state.
"I will retire from politics if anyone says that I took money for transfers. I object to the accusations made by Kumaraswamy and Bommai. I never transferred anyone in my department," he said during a discussion in the Assembly on Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's address to the joint session.
Siddaramaiah also said he has asked his cabinet colleagues to ensure that there was no corruption in their departments.
"The accusation of corruption in transfers is a figment of imagination because there is nothing else to speak against my government," the CM said.
He also said Kumaraswamy was levelling charges because the five poll guarantees namely Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyoti, Yuva Nidhi, Shakti and Anna Bhagya have created a sense of political insecurity for the JDS leader.
Siddaramaiah told the House that he has ordered a probe into the illegalities that took place during the BJP government.
However, former CM Basavaraj Bommai demanded investigation into the illegalities since 2013, he added.
"When we say that there was corruption in the previous government, their standard reply is wasn't there corruption in the Congress government?" Siddaramaiah said.
Siddaramaiah took a swipe at the BJP, which was in power for nearly four months from July 2019 to May 2023 but did not prove any corruption charges against the Congress government headed by him from 2013 to 2018.
"You could not prove that corruption took place during my previous term (as Chief Minister). This shows that no corruption had taken place in our previous government," he said.
During the discussion, the Chief Minister slammed the BJP-led Centre for not allowing the Food Corporation of India to sell rice to Karnataka to implement the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
Condemning the allegation, the BJP legislators raised slogans against the Congress and staged a walkout.
The motion of thanks to the Governor's address to the joint session was passed in the assembly.
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Congress’ downfall will start from Baramati if it doesn’t let Sunetra Pawar win unopposed: Bawankule
Nagpur (PTI): The Congress will have to face consequences if it doesn't allow NCP president and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar to win the Baramati assembly bypoll unopposed, said minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday.
The party’s “downfall” will start from Baramati, he said, stressing that the people of Baramati and Maharashtra wish that she is elected unopposed, said the BJP leader.
The April 23 bye election was necessitated after the tragic death of deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who headed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), in a plane crash in Baramati on January 28. After his death, his wife Sunetra became the party president.
The NCP, BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena are partners in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state.
“The Congress will face consequences if it doesn’t let Sunetra win unopposed from Baramati. Its downfall will start from Baramati if it doesn’t withdraw its candidate,” Bawankule told reporters in Nagpur.
Amid efforts to ensure an unopposed contest, the Congress has fielded advocate Akash More for the bypoll.
The party had said that it would withdraw from the contest only if an FIR were registered in Ajit Pawar’s death in the Baramati plane crash.
Replying to another question, Bawankule said the BJP’s performance will be more robust in Assam and Kerala elections compared to the last assembly polls in these states. Assembly polls are being held in a single phase in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry on Thursday.
“These elections will once again show Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership commanding support among the people,” he said.
