The recent raids and arrest of senior officials of Karnataka Government which yielded huge quantity of unaccounted money has kept the ruling Congress Government captained by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on tenterhooks.
The raids on the houses of two top State Government officials, TN Chikkarayappa, Managing Director of Cauvery Niravari Nigama limited and SC Jayachandra, Chief Project Officer, State Highway Development Project has yielded crores of unaccounted money and exposed their alleged connections with some Ministers in Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet. This not only points to the nexus but will also have a political impact.
The Congress sources say the IT raid is seen as a preamble of things to come and the ruling Congress is working out a strategy to find ways to escape its impact. The searches yielded `152 crores worth of property and cash surprised even the insiders in the party.
A source told The Pioneer that the suspended two officials have spilled the bean and allegedly told the IT sleuths about their links with a Minister in Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet. There are also talks in the corridor of power that a senior minister and a close aide of Siddaramaiah would get arrested by IT sleuths for his alleged connections with two officials.
The arrest of a senior Karnataka Administrative Officer (KAS) Bhima Nayak who is allegedly accused of converting black money amounting to crores of rupees to mining baron and former BJP Minister G Janardhana Reddy of Bellary who was arrested on Sunday has also links with top political bosses and their alleged involvement in the entire episode.
Ramesh, who committed suicide, the official driver of Bhima Naik left a suicide note which describes how he converted black money of Janardhan Reddy. Reddy who was responsible in formation of first BJP Government in Karnataka was in jail for over three years and out on bail. He was back in news when he performed his daughter’s wedding spending crores of rupees which raised eye brows in many circles.
Meanwhile State BJP directly links two officials who were suspended in view of the IT raids with some senior ministers in the ruling Congress Government. The major opposition says the raids which yielded over `152 crores has direct bearing on the ruling Government. State BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa in Shivamogga on Monday predicted Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and three senior Ministers in his Cabinet would resign as they are involved in major scams. He said three Ministers in his Cabinet has links with two officials who were suspended after IT raids.
For BJP getting back Karnataka is politically crucial and the party is working overtime to unseat the congress in the ensuing Assembly polls in 2018. The Assembly polls will also decide the fate of Congress and is a litmus test to Siddaramaiah who is playing the backward classes politics to the hilt. If Congress losses Karnataka it will affect its vote share and might decimate the century old party which ruled the south for a long time.