Senior Congress leader and former Minister B. Shivaramu has levelled allegations of corruption against his party colleague and Minister for Cooperation K.N. Rajanna, who is also Minister in charge of Hassan district.
In a press conference in Hassan on Thursday, Mr. Shivaramu said that he had brought this issue to the attention of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “During the elections, we raised our voice against ‘40% commission’ during the BJP rule. I have told the Chief Minister that the corruption has gone beyond 40% in Hassan and requested that he contain it,” he said.
The State government has released ₹13 crore for Hassan Zilla Panchayat. “There have been discrepancies in allotting the amount sanctioned. The Minister in charge of the district has allocated ₹2.5 crore for the welfare of his community people, who are hardly about 50,000. The Scheduled Castes, who are about 4 lakhs, have not received any amount. I have brought this issue to the attention of the district Minister. I told the Chief Minister that the corruption has gone beyond 40% in Hassan,” he said.
He also took exception to Rajanna’s recent comments on the party’s high command. “We respect our party’s high command. What can we say about people who do not respect the high command?” he wondered.
Further, Mr. Shivaramu said earlier that he had expressed his wish that the district in charge Minister tours the district along with K.M. Shivalinge Gowda, the lone Congress MLA from the district, and motivate the workers. “The Minister got upset because I expressed my wish. I don’t know why he got angry with me,” he said.
Recently, Mr. Rajanna said that he was not concerned about Shivaramu’s comments on the party.
Published - February 01, 2024 06:55 pm IST