Amidst a raging controversy over the allegations of contractors that they need to give 40% commission to get bills cleared, a seer has alleged that even Mutts have to pay 30% commission to get the funds earmarked for them.
Fakir Dingaleshwar Swami, seer of Shirahatti Mutt, made the allegation in Bagalkot on Monday.
“Corruption in the Government has grown by leaps and bounds. Even Mutts are forced to pay 30% commission to ensure release of grants”, he said while speaking at the Krishna Mahadayi Navali Sankalpa Yatre organised by Uttara Karnataka Swabhimani Vedike in Badangadi village near Bilagi in Bagalkot district.
Dingaleshwar Swami is a popular speaker on Sri Basaveshwara philosophy, who goes to towns and villages in North Karnataka making speeches about Sharana philosophy.
S.R. Patil, Congress leader, had organised the event which he has described as ‘non political’.
“Whenever the Government announces funds for Mutts, it is not that we get it directly. The funds are released only after deducting 30% commission. Otherwise, it does not come. We feel that such reduced grants will not lead to quality work. This is what officers also tell us. This has been going on for years,” the seer said.
However, B.C. Patil, Agriculture Minister, dismissed the allegations as baseless. “There is no meaning to his statements. They are meaningless,” he told journalists in Chitradurga.
“Till now, the seer was a supporter of the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. But now the seer is speaking against the BJP Government. He keeps changing colours like a chameleon. If the seer was serious about his allegations, he should have complained about it to the Government or to an anti-corruption body. But he has gone to a Congress event and spoken like a Congress spokesperson. That is unacceptable,” Mr. Patil said.
