BJP demands clarification from Congress on ministerial berths auctioning in Karnataka Cabinet
The BJP on Friday demanded a clarification from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi over alleged “auctioning” of the ministerial berths in the recently expanded state Cabinet in Karnataka.
This came after Karnataka BJP leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy on Wednesday cited a purported audio conversation between two Congress leaders of the state and alleged that Cabinet positions in the state had been secured through monetary influence.
Narayanaswamy claimed that the purported audio recording indicated that “honest” legislators who did not have money were overlooked for ministerial posts, and raised questions on the re-induction of B Nagendra, who has been chargesheeted in the Rs 89-crore Valmiki Tribes Development Corporation scam in Karnataka, into the state cabinet.
The BJP leader also warned of protest if Nagendra continued to hold the post.
Targeting the Congress over the purported audio recording, BJP MP Anurag Thakur said, “In the Congress, one’s stature and position are determined by the chadhawa (financial offerings) made to the party high command. I am not the one saying this. These serious allegations have emerged from the conversation between the Congress leaders.”
According to the purported audio tape of the conversation, 80 per cent of the ministers secured their posts in the Karnataka Cabinet by making such offerings, the former Union minister added.
“The question is why a person, who is an accused in the Valmiki Tribes Development Corporation scam and is still facing an ED case, has been inducted into the cabinet? Did the person, who embezzled funds meant for Dalits, secure a spot in the new Cabinet based on a payoff?” Thakur asked.
“These are serious allegations. Kharge, Gandhi and K C Venugopal will have to respond to these allegations,” the BJP leader told reporters here.
