Months after alleging that officials, legislators and ministers in Karnataka demand 40% bribe for all government contracts, the Karnataka State Contractors Association(KSCA) released an audio clip to support their claim. The working president of KSCA told TNM that he has proof of corruption against 15 legislators and four ministers which he will release if the pending bills are not cleared by the Karnataka government. This, even as thousands of members of the association staged a protest in Bengaluru against the state government.
“We have had documents to show that bribes were being given but after the death of Santosh Patil, people were reluctant to come forth with proof of corruption. The minister in question was not even arrested. What does this show,” R Manjunath asked. Santosh Patil who had accused former minister KS Eshwarappa of demanding bribes to clear pending bills was found dead in a hotel room in April 2022.
Manjunath played an audio clip of a conversation purportedly between him and the legislator from Chitradurga GH Thippareddy. In the conversation, the voice purportedly of Manjunath can be heard saying, "How can you say not to bill [the contract works]? That is wrong. I will give you [the remaining bribe amount]...Rs 5 to 6 crore are pending. How do I make a living?".
“I had audio clips, WhatsApp chats, and other documents to prove that the MLA had asked for a bribe. So I wanted to put this in front of the media. I wanted to become an example for other contractors to come forward. Since 2019, I have had to pay our MLA, who is a senior MLA,” Manjunath told TNM.
“I built the PWD office in 2019 but the bill for it has not been cleared yet. I built the division office in Chitradurga and had to pay over 5% bribe for that as well. During the first Covid-19 lockdown, I built a Medical Gas Pipeline(MGS) system for a 250-bed hospital. This was a project worth Rs 12 cr and I had to pay Rs 12.5 lakhs as bribe for this,” he added.
Members of the association say that bills worth Rs 25,000 cr are pending with the government.
