Accusing the BJP Government of trying to hush up all the alleged irregularities in the State, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar said the party, if voted to power in the next Assembly elections, will probe all the scams of the present government.
Participating in an interaction with journalists organised by Mysuru District Journalists’ Association (MDJA) in Mysuru on Tuesday, he expressed confidence of the Congress party returning to power in the State after the next Assembly elections due in 2023.
Claiming that the present Government was making all efforts to cover up the irregularities, the Congress leader said a deeper investigation will be conducted into all the allegations. “We will take it to its logical end”, he said.
Earlier, Mr Shivakumar had accused the BJP Government of trying to cover up various irregularities including the charges of demand for 40 per cent commission for government contracts and the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scam. It is not just the appointmens of PSIs, there is corruption in recruitments to the post of Second Division Assistant (SDA) and other positions in various departments and universities, he alleged.
He said the surveys conducted by the Congress indicated that the party will be voted back to power in the next elections. The reports of the survey showed that the party will win an absolute majority and form a government on its own, he said while claiming that we will get a “very big number”. “We will cross more than 130 seats”, he said and added that the Congress party was ready for early elections also. “The people of the State have realised that the earlier Congress Government was a good one and want to bring it back”, he said.
‘Promises fulfilled’
Asked about the Sadhana Samaveshas planned by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the State to highlight the BJP Government’s achievements, the Congress leader said the previous Congress Government headed by Mr. Siddarmaiah fulfilled 164 out of the 169 promises made in the party’s manifesto while the BJP has not even fulfilled 40 per cent of its pre-poll promises. He said that the BJP Government’s achievements were taking 40 per cent commission in government contracts, blocking beds and indulding in corruption during COVID-19, PSI scam etc.
Return of defectors
Mr. Shivakumar gave a cryptic reply when asked about the possibility of the MLAs, who defected to the BJP from Congress and JD(S), rejoining the Congress before the next elections. “Politics is an art of possibilities. There is nothing permanent in politics,” he remarked.
But, when probed further about the return of the MLAs to the Congress fold, Mr. Shivakumar said he would not like to disclose certain ‘secrets’ and caution others. He referred to the rebellion in the Shiv Sena that rocked the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government and said the developments preceding the collapse of the government were kept under wraps till it finally happened.
A host of Congress leaders including KPCC working president R. Dhruvanarayan were present on the occasion.
