JOIN USThe manner in which the State government is dealing with the Lokayukta case shows the double standards with which it operates, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has said.
Speaking at the Legislative Assembly, Kumaraswamy said that there is a sharp contrast between the manner in which the government handled the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam in 2011 and the way it is handling the present extortion racket in the Lokayukta.
“When it suited the government, the cabinet took a decision to scrap the recruitment notification of 352 Gazetted Probationary posts following corruption in the selection process. A decision taken by the KPSC, which is a constitutional body, was overruled by the government. The Lokayukta is a statutory body and a creation of the legislature. Yet, the chief minister pleads helplessness that the government is not empowered to hand over the case to the CBI,” he said.
The JD(S) leader accused the government of trying to manipulate the investigation into the corruption charges in Lokayukta by setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao had initially asked the government to appoint any independent agency to carry out the probe. But the government intervened and later made him seek a SIT probe. This clearly proves the nexus between the government and the Lokayukta, he charged.
Home Minister K J George said that Kumaraswamy is pointing fingers at the government after the Lokayukta filed an FIR against him. “There has been no manipulation on part of the State government ,as claimed by Kumaraswamy. SIT has been formed because Bhaskar Rao asked for it,” he added. Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah strongly defended his government on the issue and refuted all charges by the Opposition.
War of words Meanwhile, Energy Minister D K Shivakumar lashed out at Kumaraswamy. He claimed that when the JD(S) leader was chief minister, the Lokayukta filed false cases against him, his wife and brother.
Kumaraswamy claimed that he had evidence to prove that Shivakumar and his family were involved in illegal mining. When the minister challenged him to release the documents, the JD(S) leader said he would prove the charges.