JOIN USUnion Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha on Thursday that he had spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to convey the Centre’s readiness for a CBI probe into the death of IAS officer D K Ravi, if the State government gave its consent.
Singh’s statement came after heated exchanges between the BJP and the Congress members on the issue in the Lower House.
The minister said a delegation of BJP MPs from Karnataka, which met him on Wednesday, also raised the issue. He said even Siddaramaiah had informed him that after receiving more details, he would send a detailed report to the Centre. “If the State government recommends a CBI probe, the Centre will immediately order an enquiry by the CBI, Singh said.
Pralhad Joshi (BJP) raised the issue during zero issue and said the law and order situation in Karnataka was in a bad shape and the State government had not accepted the demands of the parents of the 35-year-old officer to recommend a CBI probe.
Congress members from Karnataka rejected Joshi’s contention that the State government was not sensitive to the issue of the death of anofficer.
Protest staged
Earlier in the day, Union ministers from Karnataka and BJP MPs staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue on the parliament complex and demanded a CBI probe. They also raised slogans against the Congress-led government in Karnataka, demanding the sacking of Home Minister K J George.
Separately, three Congress MPs from Karnataka - Muddahanumegowda, D K Suresh and Dhruvanarayan - also demanded a CBI probe into the incident.