BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal has alleged that Sri Vachanananda Swami of Harihar Panchamasali math had obtained ₹45 crore grant from the Karnataka Government by questionable means.
The seer allegedly got ₹10 crore by blackmailing former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and other leaders before the Hangal Assembly by-election, Mr Yatnal alleged in Vijayapura on April 19.
He also used undue influence to get ₹35 crore from the government for the Tunga Arati event. “I asked CM Basavaraj Bommai why he was giving such a big amount to the math. Mr Bommai told me that it was to support the job fair that the math was conducting. I questioned what was the need to hold a job fair in a math, and he (the CM) had no answer,” Mr Yatnal said.
The BJP MLA claimed to have more details about the issue, which he would reveal later.