Bypoll win is no clean chit to ruling Congress' scams, says Chalavadi Narayanaswamy

Chikkodi (Belagavi dist): The outcome of bypolls to three Assembly constituencies cannot be construed as a clean chit to the scam-hit Congress government, Leader of the Opposition in Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters here, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, “The Congress government was involved in more than 18 scams, including irregularities in the Valmiki ST Corporation and MUDA site allotment in the last one-and-a-half years. At this pace, the Siddaramaiah-led government will end up committing 60 scams.”

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should understand that the people’s mandate to the Congress in the by-election to three Assembly segments is no clean chit to the scam-hit state government,” he said.

“The Congress has done enough damage to the country during its six-decade rule. In the name of saving the Constitution, the Congress gave the Waqf Board extra-constitutional powers by issuing a gazette notification in 1974. This resulted in the Waqf Board marking acres of agricultural properties in RTCs as waqf properties,” Narayanaswamy charged.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted a JPC on waqf and the Union government, with its proposed amendment to the 1995 Waqf Act, is keen to regulate the Board, he said.

‘Appeasement politics’

Meanwhile,  Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, echoing similar views, said the Congress party’s victory in the bypolls is not a clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam.

“The MUDA site allotment case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is still in court. Only courts can give clean chit and not the elections,” Ashoka said while addressing a gathering in Taggalli in Srirangapatna, Mandya district.

Ashoka said, the Congress’ victory in the bypolls to Channapatna, Shiggaon and Sandur Assembly constituencies was due to its appeasement politics and money power. He added that his party’s fight will continue against the corruption of the Congress government.