Former Minister and Koppal District Congress president Shivaraj Tangadagi on Monday alleged that the BJP government was shielding Kanakagiri MLA Basavaraj Dhadesugur even after an audio clip in which the MLA was heard admitting to have accepted ₹15 lakh for getting a Police Sub Inspector’s (PSI) post to a candidate went viral.
He alleged that 15 candidates in Kanakagiri paid bribes for getting the PSI job. Mr. Thangadagi warned that he would undertake a padayatra from Kanakagiri to Bengaluru demanding the arrest of Mr. Dhadesugur.
Many candidates who paid bribes to the government were scared of coming to the media and were informing the public about the level of corruption in PSI recruitment, Mr. Thangadagi told presspersons here.
Congress MLA Priyank Kharge said the legal wing of the party would file a public interest litigation in the High Court of Karnataka seeking a fair probe in the alleged multi-crore scam.
In the audio clip, Parasappa, father of a PSI post aspirant, says he struck a ₹30 lakh deal at the Legislators’ Home and paid ₹15 lakh to the MLA to get his son the job. ‘
BJP legislators have become brokers to the Ministers, Mr. Kharge alleged. He said the MLA had not been summoned by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who was the Home Minister when the scam broke out, regarding the video.
In the clip, Mr. Parasappa urged Mr. Dhadesugur to return ₹15 lakh that he had given for the PSI post two years ago. In response, Mr. Dhadesugur admitted to having accepted the money and promised to return it. The telephonic conversation clearly indicates Mr. Dhadesugur’s involvement in the scam, which is being probed by CID, he said.
Meanwhile, replying to a query, Mr. Bommai said he did not know whether it was an audio or video clip and it would be examined.
