BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also state Congress president, on Friday alleged that Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy along with the BJP high command, has hatched a plot to send him to jail. He indirectly said that there was also a conspiracy by Kumaraswamy to send Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to jail. Speaking after launching the Congress’ Janandolana, a series of public meetings to counter the BJP-JDS padayatra, Shivakumar warned the BJP and JDS leaders of exposing them.
“I know that Kumaraswamy has given a list of my assets to various Union ministers. He has also given a list of CM Siddaramaiah’s assets to the BJP’s top brass. We are ready for all this. I also have details of the illegal assets of Kumaraswamy and his family. I know how the land transactions have taken place. His family has hundreds of acres near Bidadi and 200-250 acres near Kumbalgodu. Let Kumaraswamy tell the world how much land his family has near Gubbi, Chikkagubbi, Yelahanka, Hassan, and Nelamangala. Let him disclose the value of his properties,” Shivakumar challenged Kumaraswamy.
Shivakumar also hit out at state BJP chief BY Vijayendra for allegedly calling him brashtacharada pitamaha (the father of corruption). “If he (Vijayendra) has guts, he should tell the world the case that established me as a corrupt person. Does he remember that his father (BS Yediyurappa) had given sanction for a probe against me in a case and was imprisoned. But the Supreme Court had quashed the case against me,” Shivakumar said.
Vijayendra has alleged that Congress leaders are behind the BJP-JDS padayatra, Shivakumar said. “I challenge him to disclose the names of those leaders,” he added.
He said the Opposition padayatra was “of the corrupt, by the corrupt, and for the corrupt.” “However, I would like to thank the BJP and JDS leaders for giving us an opportunity to organise Janandolana to expose their corruption,” he said. He also demanded that the BJP and JDS leaders make their stand clear on the alleged Rs 87 crore scam in the Bhovi Development Corporation and the alleged Rs 47 crore scam in the APMC during their padayatra. “I challenge them to answer within a week... else we will give the details of the scams. A former BJP MLC committed a scam of Rs 47 crore. He has even gone to jail for that crime. Why are BJP and JDS not fighting this corruption? Why didn’t they investigate it?” Shivakumar said.