Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government of Karnataka will place the report submitted by Justice John Michael D’Cunha on alleged irregularities in COVID-19 management during the BJP regime at the next meeting of the Cabinet scheduled for September 5 to decide on the future course of action.
Fielding queries from reporters in Mysuru on September 3, Mr Siddaramaiah said he was not aware of the contents of the report submitted by Mr Justice D’Cunha, a retired judge of the High Court of Karnataka who had investigated alleged irregularities in the purchase of equipment and medicine during the pandemic.
Reacting to a statement by K. Sudhakar, who was the minister for health in the erstwhile BJP government in Karnataka headed by Basavaraj Bommai, that the Congress government is indulging in ‘revenge politics’ against BJP leaders, Mr Siddaramaiah sought to know the reason behind the former health minister’s reaction when the contents of the report are not yet public.
“Nobody knows what is in the report. Does he (Mr Sudhakar) know what is in the report,” he asked before pointing out that he, being the Chief Minister, is not aware of the contents of the report.
Mr Siddaramaiah said Mr Sudhakar may be gripped by a ‘feeling of guilt’ to react in such a manner even before the contents of the report had been made public.
Developments in MUDA
To a question on the suspension of former Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Commissioner G. T. Dinesh Kumar, Mr Siddaramaiah said the decision may have been taken by the Urban Development Department.
When pointed out that another former MUDA Commissioner D. B. Natesh is also facing the charge of irregularities in the allotment of MUDA sites under the 50:50 ratio scheme, Mr Siddaramaiah said the government will take action based on the report submitted by the commission headed by retired High Court judge P. N. Desai.
