Congress govt ordered 16 probes in 22 months, mostly to check BJP, JD(S) 'scams'

Bengaluru: In 22 months, the Congress government in Karnataka has ordered at least 16 probes, mostly to go after ‘scams’ involving Opposition BJP and JD(S) leaders.

The Cabinet’s decision Friday to constitute an SIT for a deep dive into the Justice H N Nagamohan Das Commission’s report on the ‘40% commission’ allegation against the previous BJP government is the latest in the list. This took the total number of SITs constituted to eight.

After coming to power in May 2023, the first SIT formed by the Congress government was to probe the sensational Bitcoin scam.

Then came an inquiry commission under Justice B Veerappa on the police sub-inspectors recruitment scam. This was followed by an SIT.

Then, the Justice Das Commission and an SIT on the ‘40% commission’ claim. The government also asked Justice Das to look into irregularities in the modernisation of the Narayanapura Left Bank canal.

Subsequently, the Justice John Michael Cunha Commission was appointed to investigate irregularities in the Covid-19 management. This, too, was followed by an SIT.

The Congress government has also formed an inquiry commission under Justice PN Desai to look into irregularities in the allotment of sites at the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

Other SITs formed are for cases against Prajwal Revanna of the JD(S), BJP’s Munirathna, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy and embezzlement of money at the Valmiki ST Development Corporation.

The Congress government has also ordered internal probes on the affairs of the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB) and Kalyana Karnataka Human Resource, Agriculture & Cultural Society. Plus, probes have been ordered on irregularities at Keonics and in the Jal Jeevan Mission.