Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the police had been instructed to take up an inquiry regarding the episode of a few Agriculture Department officials allegedly writing a complaint to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot accusing Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy of demanding bribe from them.
This came after Assistant Directors of Agriculture Department in Mandya sought a probe into the matter so that action is taken against the persons behind the “slanderous” letter.
Joint Director of Agriculture Department, Mandya, Ashoka V.S. said the seven Assistant Directors of Agriculture Department in Mandya have also clarified that they were neither harassed nor was any demand for bribe placed before them from either the Minister’s office or the Joint Director’s office.
Mr. Ashoka said he had spoken to the Assistant Directors of Agriculture of all the seven taluks of Mandya after reports appeared in the media about the complaint against alleged harassment and demand for bribe by Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy.
Speaking in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister, who has upheld the stand of Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy that the complaint letter was fake, said the Joint Director concerned had filed a complaint with the police. “The police have been told to unravel the truth by taking up an inquiry,” the Chief Minister told mediapersons after garlanding the statue of former Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa on the occasion of his 22nd death anniversary.
‘Conspiracy’
Meanwhile, Mr. Cheluvarayaswamy took to social media to warn that strict legal action would be initiated against those conspiring against him. He sought to tell his political detractors that the conspiracies being hatched against him would not be fruitful.
He said he had now got an opportunity to serve the farmers as Agriculture Minister, but efforts were being made to end his political career by some vested interests who were hatching conspiracies in an organised manner, the Minister alleged.
Legislators write to HM
Meanwhile, the Congress stood by the Agriculture Minister with six party leaders including three legislators – MLCs Dinesh Gooligowda and Ramesh Babu and MLA P.M. Narendraswamy – submitting a petition to Home Minister G. Parameshwara seeking strict action against those trying to malign the image of the Agriculture Minister by allegedly fabricating documents.
They also demanded that even those encouraging such fabrication of documents should be subject to legal action so that such attempts would not recur.
