Bribery case: BJP MLA resigns from Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd; CM promises probe

Prashanth was arrested while he was allegedly accepting Rs 40 lakh bribe to allot raw material procurement tender, on behalf of his father, BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa.
BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa. (Photo | Madal Virupakshappa Facebook)
BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa. (Photo | Madal Virupakshappa Facebook)

BENGALURU: BJP MLA K Madal Virupakshappa resigned from the post of Chairman of Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL), a state-government-owned company after his son Prashanth was arrested by the Lokayukta official on Thursday night.

The MLA has also, according to TV reports, been named as the main accused by the anti-corruption wing of the state ombudsman.

The Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited makes the Mysore Sandal Soap.

As the raids put the BJP government in a tight spot ahead of the assembly polls, the MLA from the Channagiri constituency in Davanagere district termed the Lokayukta action as a conspiracy against his family. 

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Prashanth is the chief accountant at Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).

Prashanth, a 2008-batch Karnataka Administrative Services officer, was arrested while he was allegedly accepting a Rs 40 lakh bribe to allot raw material procurement tender at the KSDL office, on behalf of his father. He had allegedly demanded Rs 81 lakh for issuing tender.

During raids on his residence in Bengaluru, the officials have reportedly found unaccounted cash to the tune of around Rs 6 crores and Rs 2.02 crore was recovered from the KSDL office.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said an impartial probe will be conducted and action will be taken against those who committed a mistake. He mentioned that the incumbent government re-established the Lokayukta to check corruption. "In the absence of an anti-corruption institution, many incidents had taken place during the Congress regime and they were hushed up," he said. 

The CM further added that the Lokayukta is an autonomous institution. "Let there be an impartial probe and those who have committed a mistake should be punished," he said. 

Responding to Congress's allegations, Bommai mentioned how many Congress MLAs and Ministers faced several charges. He also said that Congress weakened the Lokayukta by creating Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

"The Congress party cannot claim itself as the clean party as cases were registered against the Congress ministers in the past," said Bommai.

(With online desk inputs)

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