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Reacting to the claims of journalists receiving cash in Deepavali gift hampers sent by the Chief Minister’s Office, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai on October 30 said that he had not given any instructions for the hampers to be sent. “I did not instruct any of my employees to give such gifts to journalists. This is the result of Congress’ toolkit. When Congress was in power, they gave gifts such as iPhones and laptops to many journalists, the media had exposed it back then as well. The matter had reached Lokayukta back then too,” he said.
When news of the cash bribe being sent to journalists came to light, a local anti-corruption organisation named Janaadhikara Sangharsha Parishat filed a complaint with the Lokayukta, seeking an investigation under the Prevention of Corruption Act. “The matter has gone to Lokayukta. Let the investigation take place, we will eventually find out what has happened,” CM Bommai further added. The complaint was filed against the Chief Minister’s media advisor, Shankar Pagoji, through whom the CM allegedly sent the bribe.
TNM previously reported that a member of the Chief Minister's staff had contacted different press organisations, both print and electronic, and delivered Deepavali sweet hampers on October 22 and 23. The gift baskets also had envelopes with cash inside that ranged in value from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh, according to journalists TNM spoke with. It was discovered that such hampers had been given out in various news organisations, and the matter came to light after one of the journalists who had received the money contacted their editor. Three journalists told TNM that cash hampers had been distributed, and two others said they had returned the money to the CM's office. However, it is unclear how many journalists received the cash bribes and how many returned it.
Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a judicial probe into the incident, and demanded to know the source of the huge amount of money.