Expressing concerns over the ill-effects that illegal recruitments could have on governance, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge asked Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to take the PSI recruitment scam seriously and ensure an impartial investigation.
“Mr. Bommai should take the case seriously and stop such [illegal] recruitment. Otherwise, it would be harmful to the next generation. Only those who have money would get government jobs, and the poor would be deprived of their rights. What is the use of getting Special Status to the Kalyana Karnataka region if only rich candidates get selected for government jobs? The CID should investigate the case impartially. Otherwise, it would be a problem for them also in future,” Mr. Kharge said during an interaction with mediapersons in Kalaburagi on April 28.
When asked about BJP’s allegation of the involvement of Congress leaders in the scam, the veteran Congressman asked the CID to bring all culprits, irrespective of their political affiliations, to a court of justice.
“Wrongdoing is wrongdoing, irrespective of who does it. Who did it – whether your (BJP) persons or our (Congress) persons – should not be a criterion for investigation. Conduct an impartial investigation and book the culprits. Key question is not who did it but how could they do it. You have to improve the administration in such a way that there would be no room for such malpractices and irregularities,” Mr. Kharge said.
On CID’s failure to arrest BJP leader Divya Hagaragi, one of the key accused in the case, Mr. Kharge said, “You arrest some accused and don’t arrest some other accused. If you go on doing this, people will suspect your sincerity. When the stamp paper scam had come out, we had arrested the kingpin Abdul Karim Telgi outside a masjid in Ajmer (Rajasthan) when he came out after completing his prayers. He was put in jail in Karnataka and his breathed his last in Karnataka. What does it say about you when you are not able to arrest an ordinary [activist] despite knowing their whereabouts?”
Expressing concern over the image that candidates from Kalyana Karnataka might get if exam malpractices in the region were not stopped, Mr. Kharge said that people from outside the region might think that all candidates of the region pass examinations by cheating, and see their degrees with suspicion.
To a question on BJP leaders’ argument that similar scams were reported during Congress rule as well, Mr. Kharge said, “The ruling party cannot defend its shortcomings on the pretext of bad things of the past.”
“How long will you keep on asking what Congress did in the last 70 years? If Congress had done something wrong, investigate and book the culprits… You are citing bad examples of the past to justify your worst acts of the present. Don’t do 100 wrongs on the pretext of one wrong [done in the past].”
On Prashant Kishor
When asked about the possibility of election strategist Prashant Kishor joining the Congress, the senior parliamentarian said that the process has been stopped. “The conditions he [Mr. Kishor] put for joining the Congress cannot be made public. He has given some good suggestions. But, we cannot run our party on his conditions. We could implement some of his suggestions, which we feel are appropriate,” Mr. Kharge said.
