BJP state President BS Yeddyurappa, on Sunday, claimed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his aides had received Rs 150 crore kickback for the decision to go ahead with the steel flyover project.
The former CM of Karnataka and the BJP state President said that Siddaramaiah’s government had sent Rs 1,000 crore to Congress leaders in New Delhi.
“The Rs 150 crore, was a part of the Rs 1,000 crore sent to the Congress leaders in New Delhi. There is a mention of a Rs 150-crore deal with middlemen for the steel flyover project that was already received,” Yeddyurappa told media persons, while adding that Siddaramaiah must resign if the allegations were proved right.
Yeddyurappa further claimed that this information was penned down in a Congress MLC’s diary, whose house was recently raided by the Income Tax Department.
Yeddyurappa also claimed that the Enforcement Directorate would soon investigate the issue.
However, the former CM did not confirm if he was in possession of a copy of the diary or if the information about the diary and its contents was passed on to him verbally.
“The steel flyover has come under the scanner of the NGT (National Green Tribunal) and this explains what a huge controversy the steel flyover project is. The BJP will conduct a state-wide protest march to question SIddaramaiah on the kick-back issue,” the veteran BJP leader said.
Lashing out at Yeddyurappa’s claim, the Chief Minister said that writings on a piece of paper were not admissible in the court and vowed that he would resign from his post and from politics entirely, if Yeddyurappa’s claims were proved right.
“I have not taken a single penny for the steel flyover project. But if his (Yeddyurappa’s) claims are proven wrong, then he must issue a public apology and resign from politics,” the CM said while talking to media persons on Sunday at Gundlupet.
The CM also said that Yeddyurappa is one of the most corrupt politicians in the entire state and is facing charges in 15 different cases.
“I have presided over 12 budget sessions in the assembly and there has not been a single complaint against me,” Siddaramaiah told the media.
An angry Siddaramaiah said that the NDA government was out to get Congress leaders in states where the BJP was not in power and alleged that the raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate were a planned, politically motivated move.
“The BJP-led NDA government is targeting Congress MLAs with the intention to tarnish the image of the Congress government. The ED has conducted raids in Karnataka and West Bengal. This has caused a huge controversy. Why has the ED not conducted raids in Gujarat, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP is in power?” the CM questioned.