Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought the removal of Home Minister Araga Jnanendra in the wake of the Police Sub Inspector (PSI) recruitment exam scam in Karnataka.
In a tweet, Mr Siddarmaiah said Mr Araga Jnanendra has acknowledged the scam in the recruitment process for 545 PSIs and has cancelled the process. “On what moral grounds can he continue as Home Minister? He should immediately resign to facilitate an impartial investigation,” he tweeted.
Though he welcomed the government’s decision to annul the recruitment process, the former Chief Minister, in a tweet, sought to know if the decision to repeat the PSI examination was an attempt to ensure justice to honest candidates ‘or an attempt to save the big brains behind the scam’.
“When the whole @BJP4Karnataka govt is corrupt, we have no confidence that PSI scam investigation by CID will be fair and impartial,” Mr Siddaramaiah tweeted before asking that a sitting High Court judge monitor the investigation.
Speaking to reporters in T Narsipura near Mysuru, Mr Siddaramaiah asked the government not to collect fees from candidates appearing for the examination again. Over 50,000 candidates had appeared for the examination, and the government has already collected fees from them, he said.
Referring to reports of corruption in the recruitment for various posts, including Assistant Professors, Mr Siddaramaiah said the BJP government in Karnataka is the ‘most’ corrupt. “Whenever a government is corrupt, it will also suffer from maladministration,” he said.
To a question on the CID serving a notice to former Minister Priyank Kharge, Mr Siddaramaiah said the CID could have sought and collected the necessary details with regard to the scam from Mr Kharge instead of issuing a notice and asking him to appear before them.
Constituency to contest election
Mr Siddaramaiah claimed to have invitations to contest the next elections from about 20 Assembly constituencies across Karnataka. A decision in this regard will be taken only when the date for the elections, which are due in 2023, draws closer.
The voters of Badami, which he represents in the current Assembly, are asking him to contest from the constituency again. He said voters in Varuna, Chamundeshwari and Hunsur are also asking him to contest from their segments. The other constituencies named by Mr Siddaramaiah included Kolar, Chamarajapet, Hebbal and Koppal.
With elections due in April-May 2023, Mr Siddaramaiah said this is not the time for him to worry about choosing a constituency. A decision will be taken at the time of the elections, he said. However, Mr Siddaramaiah said, the Congress party is ready to face elections any time.
To a question on Mandya MP Sumalatha’s possible entry into the Congress, Mr Siddaramaiah said he has not spoken to her about it. He had read media reports about BJP leader C P Yogeshwar’s inviting her to join the party, and also her response that she had not taken any decision in this regard.
Anybody accepting the Congress party’s ideology and principles are welcome to the join the party, he said.
