The Opposition BJP that staged a dharna throughout the State for the second day on Tuesday demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, demanded a CBI probe into the recent I-T raids in Bengaluru unearthing crores of unaccounted money and valuables.
Addressing the BJP activists who staged a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda maintained that the CBI probe was a must to trace the “unseen hands” behind the money that was seized in the raids.
Mr. Gowda alleged that the seized money was a commission that was paid by contractors in return of the release of their pending bills to the tune of ₹650 crore.
Accusing the Congress of indulging in large scale corruption in the state, Mr. Gowda alleged that the CM and Dy.CM were trying to cover up the episode. BJP activists staged protests in all the Assembly constituencies.
‘Money belongs to BJP’
Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar claimed the unaccounted cash and assets unearthed in the Income Tax department’s raids belonged to BJP leaders.
“The BJP is the foundation of corruption, that is why the people of Karnataka voted against them. Money that has been found is linked to BJP leaders and it is nowhere connected to the Congress government,” he told a private channel.
On October 12, the Income Tax Department conducted searches in premises linked to government contractors and real estate developers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, New Delhi and recovered unaccounted cash worth approximately ₹94 crore and gold and diamond jewellery of over ₹8 crore.
