BENGALURU: As expected, the Siddaramaiah cabinet on Thursday resolved to take action based on the Justice John Michael D’Cunha commission’s interim report on irregularities during the Covid pandemic under the previous BJP government.
A committee, headed by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajaneesh and including the additional chief secretary and two more top bureaucrats, will study the report. The committee has been tasked with filing its report in tandem in a month with recommendations to the government on initiating action against the guilty.
Politically, the government’s move has been interpreted as a tit-for-tat as the opposition BJP has been demanding the resignation of the CM in the MUDA case.
“The CM tabled the D’Cunha report, submitted in five-six volumes, in the cabinet. The report made observations about misappropriation of hundreds of crores rupees and officials not furnishing files to the commission in spite of repeated requests. The chief secretary-headed committee will study the report thoroughly and submit its report of recommendations to the cabinet and the CM in a month,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil told reporters.
Patil clarified that the report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), headed by him, that exposed irregularities was also taken into account by the D’Cunha commission. He, however, clarified that no names (including former health minister Dr K Sudhakar) of those allegedly responsible for the irregularities were discussed in the cabinet, saying that the CS-headed committee report will reveal it.
No contempt of court, cabinet to Pramodadevi
The cabinet discussed the issue of Pramodadevi Wadiyar of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family accusing the government of contempt of the court for executing the Sri Chamundeshwari Kshetra Development Authority through an Act. The CM, ministers H K Patil, Ramalinga Reddy, Dr H C Mahadevappa and K Venkatesh, held the maiden meeting of the authority in Mysuru recently.
“Pramodadevi Wadiyar had issued a statement that we held the meeting despite there being a stay by the court, but she perceived the matter wrongly. Here the whole episode was misunderstood by her, as our additional advocate general N Devdas has clarified that there is no impediment to holding the meeting. Neither the CM nor the ministers violated the court’s order,” Patil said.