Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has said that he was waiting for the Income Tax officials to raid his place so that they could access documents related to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
Speaking to presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he had kept documents related to Mr. Yediyurappa’s properties worth crores of rupees. “I am waiting for the I-T officials to raid my place,” he said.
Making it clear that he was not opposed to I-T raids, the former CM said the Central government was making use of the I-T Department against its political rivals. “They are targeting only those in the Opposition, as if all BJP leaders are beggars with no money,” he commented.
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Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Prime Minister’s Office had designated IAS officers to keep an eye on the State government. They are tracking every step of the government. “Besides, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters get the minute-by-minute update on the Chief Minister’s movements,” he said.
The government required time to settle down and his party chose to keep mum on its failures about relief works in flood-hit areas. “Now we have seen how this government is functioning. We are working out strategies to convey their failures to the public,” he said.
“The government had no shortage of funds. There was no point in blaming the Centre for not providing the funds. The NDRF fund would never fulfil the need. But the State government did not commit to providing relief. They are interested only in looting money. They have not yet allotted houses constructed during our rule in Kodagu district,” he said.
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“The government released funds for constituencies going for to polls. The party in power is making money for the elections by assigning the works to Nirmiti Kendras,” he said.
‘Worse than British rule’
Stating that the country is facing an Emergency-like situation, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said the situation in India under the British rule was not as bad as it is today.
In a press conference, Mr. Kumaraswamy said the recent incidents in the country forced him to feel that democracy was in danger. He was carrying a copy of Frontline’s recent issue with the cover story “Civil Liberties in Peril” and referred to reports published in the issue in his address.
“Former Union Minister Chinmayananda Swami had been accused of abduction and rape. While the victim had been sent to jail, the accused had been kept in an air-conditioned room. Activists and intellectuals had been imprisoned in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case for several months. And, see what has happened to former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhat in Gujarat for speaking the truth,” Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
He said he would not keep mum though he was aware of the consequences if he spoke against the present regime. “Whenever there is an election, a surgical strike is done. The people who were once Ministers in the Vajpayee government have been put behind bars. How long can the government keep its army in Jammu and Kashmir?” he asked.