Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday, August 31 challenged Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy to produce evidence linking him to the alleged Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam.
The alleged scam is related to irregularities in a test for the appointment of Assistant Executive Engineers (AEE) under the Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme.
Kharge said he was willing to quit politics if there was even “an iota of evidence” establishing his involvement in the alleged irregularities. He also challenged Kumaraswamy to retire from politics if any involvement of the BJP or JD(S) was established in the case.
“If my involvement is proven, I am ready to forgo politics entirely. Even my family will not come (to politics),” Kharge told reporters.
Kumaraswamy has alleged that Kharge was complicit in the alleged recruitment scam when he headed the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department under the Siddaramaiah government. The allegations include candidates being kept at resorts, question papers being provided in advance and OMR sheets being manipulated.
Kharge hit back, saying the allegations should be backed by documents. He pointed out that two FIRs had already been registered and said a transparent investigation should be allowed to proceed.
“If your words carry weight, provide documents. We will get a transparent investigation since there are already two FIRs. We will not spare anyone. It is unbecoming of your stature to make allegations without documents,” he said.
Questioning the basis of the allegations, Kharge said the KPSC, rather than the government, was responsible for the examination process and custody of the OMR sheets.
“The allegation is about answers in OMR sheets being rewritten. Who has the custody of the OMR sheet? KPSC is responsible for it. Every decision was taken by the KPSC,” he said.
He said the KPSC had initially constituted a three-member committee to inquire into the alleged irregularities, which was later disbanded and replaced by a five-member committee.
According to Kharge, the five-member committee submitted its report a day after the RDPR Department issued conditional appointment orders. He alleged that the KPSC did not share the findings with the government at the time and that the government received the report only in February this year.
Kharge said the report attributed the irregularities to the examination wing and did not blame the government. He also pointed out that the KPSC had the power to cancel the selection list.
Kharge also questioned Kumaraswamy's silence on suspended KPSC chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar, asking why he had not raised questions about his appointment.
“Why has he not spoken about (former Chief Minister) BS Yediyurappa appointing him?” Kharge asked.
He alleged that members of the KPSC whom he described as corrupt had been nominated either by Yediyurappa or the BJP.
Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy continued his attack on Kharge from Delhi, saying the Home Minister could not distance himself from the allegations.
“Allegations have been made that candidates were kept at resorts, question papers were provided, and OMR sheets were manipulated,” Kumaraswamy told reporters.
Kumaraswamy maintained that he had already provided documents relating to his allegations. He said he was not seeking Kharge's retirement from politics, but a transparent investigation into the alleged recruitment irregularities.