NEW DELHI, BENGALURU : Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy once again criticised the Karnataka government over alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment. This time, he dragged the name of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and taunted him asking when he would visit Bengaluru to meet those affected by the alleged KPSC scam.
Kumaraswamy, a former chief minister, claimed that the “KPSC scandal” was generating negative national attention for Karnataka.
Kumaraswamy directed pointed criticism at Home Minister Priyank Kharge, alleging he could not escape responsibility for irregularities in the selection and recruitment of Assistant Executive Engineer Grade-1 posts that occurred during his tenure as the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) minister. He alleged that candidates had been made to sit in a resort, given question papers in advance, and had answers marked on OMR sheets - calling it, sarcastically, “the first such experiment in the country” and claimed Priyank “deserved credit” for it.
He questioned how a minister could claim ignorance of activities within his own department while apparently being well-informed about every other issue in the country, adding that “the public is intelligent enough” to see through such claims.
Kumaraswamy also remarked that since taking charge of the Home portfolio, Priyank’s has been “invoking the RSS from morning to evening” rather than focusing on his own responsibilities.
Responding to Priyank’s earlier statement asking Kumaraswamy to speak “with documents in hand,” the Union Minister said he had always presented documentary evidence - including probe reports, OMR sheets allegedly altered using carbon copying, and sub-committee reports.
He noted that even the Karnataka Chief Minister had acknowledged irregularities in the Assistant Executive Engineer recruitment process on the floor of the state assembly, and that this record too had been made public.
In a pointed jibe, Kumaraswamy said that if Priyank did not understand the Constitution despite carrying it with him, he should “ask his father” - a reference to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge - about how commissions of inquiry are typically formed, noting that the case in question had already seen 12 hearings before the High Court of Karnataka, with the state government allegedly seeking repeated adjournments.
Kumaraswamy alleged that awareness of the irregularities was widespread within the State Government, including on Priyank’s part, and that fear set in only after the Directorate of Enforcement began investigating allegations of OMR sheet tampering.
Responding sarcastically to Priyank’s suggestion that the ED’s involvement was politically motivated, Kumaraswamy asked, “Did Amit Shah send the ED?”
Kumaraswamy further alleged that when questioned about the scandal, state officials tend to counter by asking who appointed the KPSC chairman in the first place. He referred to an individual who had allegedly been reinstated in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) around 2016-17 before later being appointed KPSC chairman, and asked Priyank to explain the basis on which that appointment - of an official named Shyam Bhat - had been made, reminding him that he too had been a minister in that cabinet at the time.
Meanwhile, Priyank Kharge, when contacted said, “First place documents and then speak. This is the third time he has repeated these allegations, what is new he has changed his location to Delhi and said the same thing.’’