A diary seized by the Income Tax Department last year from the residence of Karnataka Congress MLC K. Govindaraj has led to allegations of huge pay-offs to several party leaders, says a report aired by a television news channel.
The report comes just days after BJP State president B.S. Yeddyurappa alleged that huge sums of money were routed to the Congress high command from the Karnataka party unit. The diary excerpts appear to corroborate these claims that surfaced on Thursday.
The State BJP has since demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the “revelations.” Former minister and BJP spokesperson Suresh Kumar said the Congress owes an answer to the people of Karnataka. The party would take the issue to a logical end and the diary proved the allegations made by Mr. Yeddyurappa, he added.
The Congress has denied the charges, alleging that they are part of a pre-planned conspiracy.
The Congress media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “The Congress party released the video of Union Cabinet Minister Ananth Kumar and Karnataka BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa, wherein they were speaking about giving money to stay in power, as also about a conspiracy hatched through a diary to accuse the Congress government in Karnataka. Both of them are currently being investigated.”
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Mr. Surjewala said this proved that the “fake and forged diary is being pushed by the Modi government by misusing the agency of Income Tax/ED/CBI to ... as a reaction to the Congress raising the issue of Sahara-Birla papers, wherein PM Modi has been named.”
The diary, contents of which were released by the television channel, has a list of acronyms purportedly showing payments running into crores of rupees to M. Vora, AICC, AP, RG Office, SG Office, DGVS, KJP, MBP, KJG, RLR, etc.
