MANDYA: Union minister HD Kumaraswamy accused the Congress government of attempting to divert public attention from alleged irregularities in the Housing Department by circulating a letter written by Law Minister HK Patil.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday after laying the foundation stone for a hi-tech auto stand in Mandya, Kumaraswamy said, “Congress MLA BR Patil clearly mentioned in an audio clip that houses were being allotted to those who paid money. I’m not surprised by the allegations or the revelations, they’re widely known.”
He further alleged that even ruling party MLAs are being forced to pay bribes to get government funds released for their departments and constituencies. “It’s not the MLAs, but middlemen running the show. These middlemen get work done by offering money, while MLAs are reduced to being figureheads. This is the kind of system currently operating in the state, and it’s the worst,” he said.
Calling it a betrayal of the people, he added, “Owning a house is a dream for every poor family. But the government is extorting money from them. Why are middlemen even allowed inside Vidhana Soudha? It’s the ministers who have institutionalised this corruption by fixing rates within their departments.”
When asked about the government’s proposal to build a tunnel road in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy sarcastically responded, “Let them build tunnel roads not just in Bengaluru, but across the entire state.”
Criticising the Congress government for unfulfilled promises, he pointed at the delay in the Yettinahole project. “They claimed Yettinahole water would reach Kolar by 2027. But that water hasn’t even left Kadumane Estate. Over Rs 15,000 crore has already been misused. In 2013, the Congress performed the ground-breaking puja and promised to supply water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur in two years. Now it’s 2025, and there’s still no water,” he said.