Seeking to turn the tables on the BJP on the issue of corruption, AICC president Rahul Gandhi sought to focus on the charges of corruption against the saffron party’s chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Addressing a rally at Gonikoppal on Friday, Mr. Gandhi dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reveal to the public the ‘corrupt record’ of Mr. Yeddyurappa. He said the PM had no moral authority to talk about corruption when former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate for the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka.
“How can you talk about corruption when your chief ministerial candidate has gone to jail for corruption,” Mr. Gandhi said, and further questioned, “Will you disclose to the public the record of corruption by your chief ministerial candidate?”
When Mr. Modi accuses the Siddaramaiah government of corruption, he will have Mr. Yeddyurappa standing by him on one side along with four other Ministers of his erstwhile covernment, who went to jail, Mr Gandhi said, while seeking to highlight the ‘hollowness’ of BJP’s accusations against the Siddaramaiah government. He said the Modi Government at the Centre had renamed CBI into Central Bureau of ‘illegal mining’, which had given a clean chit to the Reddy brothers, who along with Mr. Yeddyurappa had “looted” Karnataka of its wealth.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who also spoke on the occasion, said his government had instituted a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) against illegal mining even though the central agencies had spared the accused. He also dared BJP leaders to come forward for a debate on corruption. “But, they don”t have the courage to come for a debate,” he said. The BJP was interested only in spreading misinformation and misguiding people. He sought to know how BJP national president Amit Shah’s son’s company’s revenues could see a meteoric rise from just ₹50,000 to a whopping ₹80 crores in one year.
Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M. Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal, and Minister for Science and Technology M.R. Seetharam were also present at the rally.
