Project nixed but CM isn't clean, says Yeddyurappa

BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa has said scrapping the controversial steel flyover doesn’t mean Chief Minister Siddaramaiah didn’t take “kickbacks” to sanction the project.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, he said his party stuck to its stand that Siddaramaiah did “accept kickbacks” for the project. “Scrapping the project does not mean he is clean,” Yeddyurappa said and added that the BJP maintained its demand for CBI enquiry into the controversy surrounding the project.

The BJP strongman reiterated the accusation that Siddaramaiah and several of his Cabinet colleagues “paid off hundreds of crores of rupees to Congress national leaders”. He said the BJP had “amplified” the voice of people who had vehemently opposed the project.

In a statement, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Jagadish Shettar, said, “The state government was supporting the project. It has now done a U-turn as it is on the verge of getting exposed...”

The BJP’s state spokesperson, S Suresh Kumar, said the government dropped the project following reports that Rs 65 crore was paid in kickbacks for it. “I congratulate the people of Bengaluru for putting up a united fight against the ill-planned project. The BJP had only supported people’s movement,” he said.