Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Information Technology and Biotechnology, Priyank Kharge.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge has said that the state government will go after corruption cases during the previous BJP tenure and ensure that half the party leaders are either in jail or running for bail in next six months.
“There are more than 35 cases against BJP leaders. An interim report has already been submitted in three-four cases and they are being studied closely. We will get to the bottom of those cases. There was rampant corruption in the previous government. We are working on it. And let me assure you again that in the next six months, half the BJP leaders will be running for bail or will be in jail,” Priyank said.
He was addressing a joint press meet with Keonics chairperson Sharat Bachche Gowda here on Sunday.
Priyank’s statement comes a day after Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted prosecution sanction against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged site allotment scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
Priyank said that Congress has not indulged in vendetta politics in its 15-month rule in Karnataka. “Delivering efficient governance is our priority,” he added.
Maintaining that BJP can no way take the case against Siddaramaiah to the logical end, Priyank said, “They do not have any evidence. The only thing they can do is to keep the case alive by using the Central Bureau of Investigation, Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate, and the Governor himself.”
The RDPR minister described Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot as a puppet in the hands of the Central government and not a constitutional head of Karnataka.
“Unfortunately, the position of governor has been compromised and he is behaving like a BJP worker. He should stop converting the Raj Bhavan into Jagannath Bhavan (BJP state headquarters),” he said.