Now, vendors accuse Karnataka govt agency of demanding 12% cut

Bengaluru: Vendors working for a state-run agency accused an IAS officer of seeking a 10-12% cut to clear payments for pending bills worth nearly Rs 300 crore, an allegation that prompted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to offer an inquiry. 

The Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (Keonics) reports to IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, who, however, denied the commission allegation. The BJP, however, demanded the minister’s resignation for a “fair” probe. 

“Two months ago, there was no problem. Payments got delayed, but there was no other problem. After the new government came, a corrupt official who was suspended was brought into Keonics as the managing director. There is a mafia,” Keonics Vendors Association president Vasanth Bangera told reporters. 

“Sangappa, the MD, has asked us to pay a cut citing his expenses, that he had to pay a huge sum for his posting,” Bangera claimed.

“We make 5-6% profit. From where do we give them a cut? When we refused to pay, they started harassing us by saying our papers are not in order and that our works aren’t genuine,” he said, adding that 10% is the minimum cut being demanded. 

On Saturday, a section of vendors had staged a protest against Sangappa, who has denied the allegations. 

Speaking in Hassan, Siddaramaiah said he would order in inquiry “if there is any truth in the allegation”.

In Kalaburagi, Kharge said much scams had taken place at Keonics over the last 2-3 years. “We suspect scams worth over Rs 250 crore based on audit objections and our own findings. In this part of the state, some universities were billed Rs 10,000 for television sets costing Rs 1,000. CCTV prices were shown 20 times higher. So, before making any payments, rules require a third-party inspection. We are just following government procedure,” the minister said and sought proof for the vendors’
allegations. 

The BJP, which had to face ‘40% commission’ allegation when in power, lapped up the charge against Priyank. “He has to resign in order to facilitate a free and fair inquiry,” BJP chief spokesperson MG Mahesh said.