BENGALURU: Union Minister for Steel HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday claimed that the state government is yet again working to throw him behind bars. “They dream of imprisoning me at least for a day,” he said.
The former chief minister, a political veteran, alleged that certain officials, led by an officer who he did not name, are working tirelessly to see him jailed.
Kumaraswamy continued to drop bombshells, saying, “I exposed his (the officer’s) misdeeds to the media, and now he’s out for revenge.” But the question lingering among politically-bent minds is: What exactly is the case against Kumaraswamy?
The union minister finds himself in the crosshairs of a decade-old alleged scandal, standing accused in the Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals (SSVM) case, where criminal conspiracy and cheating allegations have been made. He is accused number two in the case, which has been filed over betraying public trust and government corruption. Kumaraswamy has taken bail, but if it is cancelled, the possibility of his arrest is real.
In relation to the case, the government has already sanctioned action against former officialsK Jayachandra, who was an undersecretary in the Department of Commerce and Industries, and Javare Gowda, a former clerk in the Mines and Geology Department. But the sanction against Kumaraswamy is pending before the governor.
In this mining case, the Kumaraswamy’s government was accused of bypassing the recommendations of the secretary of Commerce and Industries to lease 550 acres of land in Sandur taluk to SSVM. But the mining firm, which beat 29 other applicants for the land, turned out to be an unregistered entity.
It is also alleged that Jayachandra illegally inserted the name of the firm’s proprietor Vinod Goel into an official letter. Jayanchandra’s alleged accomplice and department clerk Javare Gowda processed it without verifying the original SSVM documents. Kumaraswamy is charged with criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy, and cheating in the case.
But Kumaraswamy isn’t going down without a fight. On Tuesday, he defended his decision to secure bail, saying, “The law permits it. My lawyers advised me to take bail because these corrupt officials will do anything to bring me down.”
He aimed his fire at the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case. “I know what’s been happening in the last three to four months. The SIT added the name of an unrelated person in the Rs 80 crore scandal to shift focus. They are manipulating facts,” he alleged.
