Give list of officials taking bribe for e-khata, will suspend them: D K Shivakumar to Ashoka

Deputy Chief Minister says technical issues e-khata system is facing will be resolved in the next few days

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has said that he will suspend any official accused of taking bribe for issuing e-khata.

His said this after Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, during a debate in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, drew his attention to the issue of officials taking bribes to issue e-khata, the digital, authenticated version of the traditional property khata certificate.

Responding to the charge, Shivakumar said, “The document is being delivered at the doorstep of people. The Centre has praised this scheme. How can you criticise it? Give me a list of officials who have demanded bribe, I will suspend them by the end of the day.”

Shivakumar, who is in charge of Bengaluru Development, said 10 lakh e-khatas had been issued so far.

“We have issued 10 lakh e-khatas. Have you seen the process? There are some technical issues and we will resolve them in the next few days and inform the House about it,” he said.

The day also saw Opposition BJP lawmakers accusing the Congress government of unleashing “tax terrorism” on citizens in Bengaluru with more than 24,000 properties being issued show-cause notices based on an ongoing drone survey.

Earlier, while replying to Ashoka, the Deputy Chief Minister dubbed the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as an "empty vessel".

“We call the Union Budget an empty vessel. You were ready with an empty vessel (chombu) to be given to the people even before the (State) Budget. It would have been understandable if you had purchased the vessel after the Budget. This shows your mindset,” he said.

Shivakumar was referring to a protest staged by BJP leaders holding chombu against the State government for presenting a Budget that had "trapped the people of the State in a web of debt".

It may be recalled that after the Union Budget was presented on February 1, Shivakumar had said there was "no benefit" for the State from it. Responding to it on similar lines, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had slammed the Union Budget as “very disappointing” and described it as lacking “foresight”. “Nothing has been given to Karnataka. They have given a chombu," he had said.