Former Energy Minister, H.D. Revanna on Wednesday asked the Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar to step down from the post of Chairman of the House Committee formed to inquire in to irregularities in purchasing power and energy equipment from 2005 to 2013.
Addressing presspersons Mr. Revanna appealed to the Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa to ask the Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar to resign as Chairman of the Committee.
“Being the Minister for Energy, it is morally incorrect for Mr. Shivakumar to head the Committee, as he is facing charges of irregularities”, said Mr. Revanna, who refused to become the member of the House Committee on moral grounds. He has also favoured dissolution of the House Committee, if Mr. Shivakumar refuses to step down
Mr. Revanna said that he had written to Mr. Kagodu Thimmappa against including him in the Committee, as alleged irregularities in purchasing power and energy equipment during his tenure as the Energy Minister, is also being probed by the panel.
“Similarly, I have also refused to become member of the House Committee set up to probe an alleged violation of the framework agreement by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), which is implementing Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project, as I have also served as the Minister for Public Works in Dharam Singh and H.D. Kumaraswamy governments”, he claimed.
Noting that, it would be difficult for the Committee to probe the irregularities in the power sector “impartially”, having Mr. Shivakumar as Chairman, who is facing allegations of irregularities in power and equipment purchase, he said the only option left for the Speaker was to dissolve the committee.
Mr. Revanna, who headed the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) for long, urged the Federation to reconsider its decision to hike the milk price.
