The Union Home Ministry has sought documents and other forms of proof from the president of the Karnataka State Contractors' Association, who alleged that the ruling BJP in the state demanded 40% of commissions as bribes from state-hired contractors. Association president Kempanna has submitted all the documents to the officer sent by the Union Home Ministry in Bengaluru on Tuesday, June 28. Kempanna had written to the Home Ministry about the corruption allegations against the BJP government in the state.
"The Union Home Ministry has sent an officer in this regard to discuss the issue. I have all the documents that were sought by the officer. I will meet and give all details in that regard," Kempanna had stated. He added that he had earlier agreed to provide the documents on the condition that a proper investigation into the matter be conducted. The development comes even as the ruling BJP is fielding the controversy surrounding the revision of school textbooks.
The Contractor's Association had held a press conference and had also written to the Prime Minister, alleging that the BJP leaders are forcibly taking a 40% cut in all the projects executed by the contractors. When the issue came to light, the Congress had demanded action against the ministers responsible and had even called for the imposition of President’s Rule in Karnataka.
Kempanna alleged that the Rural Development, PWD, BBMP and Irrigation Ministers have their own agents. "Even the CM's office is not an exception. There are audio records on commission given to them. Health Minister Sudhakar's family members are carrying out 60% of the work. His wife gives cheques for the work. The son of a Chitradurga MLA has quit the medical profession to become a contractor," Kempanna had alleged. Reacting to the same, Sudhakar had called Kempanna a Congress agent. He challenged him to prove the allegations against him and warned that he would file a defamation case against him.
In April 2022, a civil contractor, who was also a BJP member, accused Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa of corruption, as the minister had allegedly demanded a 40% cut of the commission for a Rs 4 crore road-laying project. He told TNM that no work order was generated, and that he did not receive any payment for his work from the government.
He was later found dead in a lodge in Udupi, and a day before his death, Patil had purportedly sent a WhatsApp message to his friend saying that Eshwarappa was the “sole cause” for his death.