JOIN USPSI recruitment scam: Congress names Yediyurappa's son, Karnataka minister Ashwath Narayan
Karnataka Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Tuesday claimed that former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra and Higher Education minister CN Ashwath Narayan are involved in the PSI recruitment scam, and accused chief minister Basavaraj Bommai of "protecting" them.
Siddaramaiah said this at a news conference he addressed alongside Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, with the party looking to make corruption as a poll plank to fight the BJP in the 2023 Assembly election.
"There are allegations against Narayan that five of his people got selected in the PSI recruitment. It is also said that a former chief minister's son...Vijayendra...is also involved," Siddaramaiah said. "The chief minister, who is protecting all these people, must take moral responsibility and resign," he said, demanding a judicial probe into the PSI recruitment scam.
The Congress is going after Bommai and Home minister Araga Jnanendra following the arrest of ADGP Amrit Paul.
"Can the ADGP manipulate the OMR sheets so blatantly without help from the top? The OMR sheets of 300 candidates were manipulated. Anywhere between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore was taken from each candidate. Whose pocket did this money reach?" Siddaramaiah said.
Shivakumar demanded Jnanendra's resignation and said the PSI scam is worth Rs 300-500 crore. "The Home minister told the legislature that there was no scam. He lied and misled the state. A case should be booked against him," he said.
Seeking dismissal of the BJP government, Shivakumar said corruption levels have become unprecedented. "Paul was arrested only because of the court," he said, claiming that the BJP government is trying to "cover up" the PSI scam.
"These developments are a black spot on Karnataka. At this juncture, I bow down to the judiciary for coming to the rescue of people. But, even the judiciary isn't safe," Shivakumar said, referring to Justice HP Sandesh's oral observation that he received a transfer threat for his remarks against the functioning of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
Siddaramaiah also hit out at Bommai, who said that the previous Congress government did not act upon irregularities in PSI recruitment. "If something happened when our government was there, why didn't Bommai seek an investigation then? He's the CM now and he can't escape by saying things like scams happened in the past as well," he said.