Haveri: Saleem Ahmed, the MLC and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president, on Thursday said the government was not serious about tackling corruption in the government’s tendering process.
“Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai declared the government would form a committee to review the tender process of contracts that are more than Rs 50 crores in the future. But the CM should conduct a probe into previous tender misappropriation,” Ahmed said.
The government was “not serious about the complaint filed by Kempanna, president of the Karnataka Contractors Association”, he said. “We were hopeful that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would order a higher-level inquiry into the 40% commission allegations. But, including Modi, both the Union and state governments, are encouraging corruption. Karnataka has become the capital of corruption,” he said.
The Congress plans to launch an agitation across the state to create awareness among people regarding the 40% commission bribe allegation. “We are fighting against the state government’s scam in 224 assembly segments. “The state government should bring corruption charges against KS Eshwarappa and should arrest him immediately,” Saleem said.
Satish Jarkiholi, another KPCC working president, alleged that the BJP government’s focus was not on development but on divisive politics. “If the government has a real concern, they should ban all organisations that are creating tension in society,” he said.