Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday rebutted the BJP's charge that ₹82 crore recovered in the state recently was linked to the Congress, saying the JP Nadda-led party was the "foundation of corruption". The Congress stalwart claimed the unaccounted cash and assets unearthed in the Income Tax department's raids belonged to BJP leaders.
"Entire corruption is by the BJP only. The BJP is the foundation of corruption, that's why the people of Karnataka threw them away. Money that has been found is linked to BJP leaders and it is nowhere connected to the Congress government," he told ANI.
On October 12, the Income Tax Department conducted searches in premises linked to government contractors and real estate developers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, New Delhi and recovered unaccounted cash worth approximately ₹94 crore and gold and diamond jewellery of over ₹8 crore. 30 luxury wristwatches were also found.
₹42 crore was also recovered from the house of a close relative of a Karnataka contractor, named Ambikapathy. The contractor was one of the state's numerous contractors who had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, complaining against alleged corruption in the state government.
The BJP alleged on Sunday the Congress was using Karnataka as an ATM machine to fund its electoral expenses in 5 poll-bound states.
" ₹42 crore cash was recovered from Ambikapathy's house. Another ₹40 crore was recovered from the residence of another builder Santhosh Krishnappa. We have information regarding the 5-state elections. All this money belongs to Congress. We had earlier alleged that the state (Karnataka) would be an ATM for the Congress government. That has turned out to be true. The truth will come out after enquiry. We are demanding a CBI inquiry," BJP leader CT Ravi had said.
Reacting to Shivakumar's allegation, BJP leader Sadananda Gowda said today: "The deputy CM says that the money belongs to the BJP. Let him inquire and come up with proof that it belongs to the BJP people. Such people should be punished, whoever it turns out to be..."
Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday said the contractor had branded the previous BJP government in Karnataka as "40 percent commission government" and wrote a letter to PM Modi, at the behest of the Congress.
“We must remember the name of a person, Ambikapathy, the contractor who, on behalf of the Congress, had written to the prime minister in July-August last year labelling the erstwhile BJP government in Karnataka as 40 per cent commission government," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He attributed the party's loss in the Karnataka assembly election to a "massive drama they had orchestrated with a singular objective -- corruption".
(With inputs from agencies)