KPCC vice-president Basavaraj Rayareddy on Wednesday demanded an investigation into the high cost of laptops given to college students after the BJP came to power in 2019-20.
The former higher education minister, however, admitted that the cost in question was finalized when the Congress-JD(S) coalition was in power. "In 2016 and 2017, the Congress government-supplied laptops to students with each one costing Rs 14,490. Then, the coalition government approved a bid quoting Rs 28,320 for each laptop. Then, the government fell. The BJP government went ahead and gave laptops costing Rs 28,320," Rayareddy said. "For 1.09 lakh students, our cost of Rs 14,490 would have come up to Rs 159 crore. Going by the BJP's rate of Rs 28,320, it's Rs 311 crore, which is an excess payment of Rs 152 crore," he said and claimed that Narayan's relative was the bidder.
Narayan denied the charges. "They had finalized everything by the time I took charge. Even the purchase order had been placed, so all we did was to receive the supply," he said, accusing the Congress of trying to blame the BJP for "a scam that may have taken place when the coalition was in power".
Published 11 May 2022, 18:31 IST