Congress demands Yediyurappa's resignation, judicial probe over corruption charges

Congress leaders said Yediyurappa has 'no moral right to remain' as the chief minister

Congress on Sunday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and a judicial probe against him following allegations raised by a former state Pollution Control Board head that he was pressured to pay a bribe for his appointment.

Former Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is also party in-charge in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Goa, and party spokesperson Gaurab Vallab also demanded that central agencies like CBI, ED and Income Tax Department should carry out an "exhaustive" investigation to "uncover the truth" behind the allegations.

"When India was fighting Covid-19, the Karnataka chief minister was allegedly more interested in such acts of extortion through his relatives. If these allegations are true, the people of Karnataka have been cheated on two counts - abetting black money circulation by the chief minister and weakening the fight against Covid-19 by focusing on matters of brazen corruption when the focus should have been to save lives and provide relief to the people," Gundu Rao said.

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The Congress leader said Yediyurappa has "no moral right to remain" as the chief minister after allegations of "such serious nature and of direct involvement".

"Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa should resign immediately from the post. An independent judicial probe should be set up under the supervision of Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court to uncover the entire matter and send the culprits behind bars," he said.

The Congress leaders cited a local TV channel's interview with former Karnataka State Pollution Control Board Chairman Dr M Sudheendra Rao during which he alleged that he was asked to cough up Rs 16 crore for his appointment and that he was harassed by the chief minister's close relatives for money.

Rao has accused Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra, grandson Shashidhar Maradi and a close cousin Sanjay Shree of insisting for clearance of around 60 files regarding requests for No Objection Certificates for the functioning of several private companies. Rao also alleged that the family members of Yediyurappa collected Rs 60 crore as bribes in this connection, according to Congress leaders.

The former Chairman also alleged that his signature was obtained on a blank paper and later his resignation letter was typed on it without his knowledge.