It appears that the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy continues to be dogged by the CD row where he purportedly discussed MLAs demanding money to elect a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC).
A complaint was lodged with the Lokayukta in August based on a 35-minute audio clip that became public in July. The CD contained a conversation between supporters of Vijugowda Patil, an MLC aspirant from Bijapur, and Mr. Kumaraswamy.
The Lokayukta — which probed the allegation against Mr. Kumaraswamy of “bribing members in Assembly to elect a specific candidate as MLC” — had cleared the Janata Dal (Secular) Floor Leader “for want of evidence”.
According to sources in the Lokayukta, Mr. Kumaraswamy was cleared because there was no substantiating evidence to prove the charge that would have attracted provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. There was no specific demand or acceptance of money.
However, it is learnt that the Union Home Ministry has now asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to initiate action against Mr. Kumaraswamy on the matter. Earlier, the Home Ministry had sought a report from the Karnataka government on the allegations.
Satyananda, Congress leader from Mandya, took up the issue with President Pranab Mukherjee, who transferred the complaint to the Home Ministry. The Ministry has now passed the buck to the ECI.
When contacted, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had not received any communication from the ECI.
Noting that he was prepared to face any probe and face any consequence “for speaking the truth”, he added, “I have not committed any crime. The crime I committed was speaking on the falling standards in politics. Telling the truth is being considered a crime now.”
