PSI recruitment scam: Congress goes after Bommai, Jnanendra after ADGP arrest

The Congress on Monday went after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Home Minister Araga Jnanendra after ADGP Amrit Paul was arrested in connection with the PSI recruitment scam.

The JD(S) said there are “kingpins” who are yet to be nabbed.

AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, who manages the party’s affairs in Karnataka, demanded Bommai’s resignation.

“Arrest of the ADGP is insufficient. A fair investigation can happen only when Bommai resigns or is sacked!” Surjewala said in a tweet while pointing out that it was Bommai who was the home minister when the scam-hit PSI recruitment exam took place. “Responsibility for the PSI scam lies at the doorstep of then home minister Basavaraj Bommai, nothing more-nothing less,” he said.

Also Read: CID arrests ADGP Amrit Paul in Karnataka PSI recruitment scam

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar sought Jnanendra’s sacking. “More skeletons are falling out of the closet, and the arrest of ADGP Amrit Paul is a classic example of this,” Siddaramaiah said. “It is not enough if only officers are blamed for the PSI scam. Even Araga Jnanendra is equally responsible for this. Bommai should first sack Jnanendra from the Cabinet,” he said.

Shivakumar recalled Jnanendra's statement in the Assembly that there was no scam. "The home minister should resign to save the grace of this position," he said. "The High Court has said that the investigation is not happening in a transparent manner. Not just the PSI, but there are reports of corruption in recruitment at all departments."

Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) hailed CID chief PS Sandhu for “not buckling under any pressure” and said that Paul’s arrest was “historic”.

“But, there’s a long way for the CID to go in the PSI scam,” he said, urging the investigation agency to go after the "influential kingpins".

Kumaraswamy claimed that the government would collapse if he revealed the name of “one great kingpin” who is involved. “When I said this earlier, I was accused of hit-and-run. What do the nay-sayers have to say now?”