Charges already proven; now dissolve Assembly and quit: BSY tells CM

Bengaluru, Feb 25: Karnataka BJP chief B?S?Yeddyurappa has demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah step down and recommend dissolution of the Assembly claiming that his statements that the state Congress leaders provided payoffs to the party high command were already “proven”.

“Siddaramaiah had stated that he will resign and retire from politics if my charges were proven. The contents of the diary have now been revealed. Siddaramaiah should resign immediately,” Yeddyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru.

A?national channel on Thursday had aired the contents of a diary reportedly belonging to Congress MLC K?Govindaraj which provided details of payoffs by state Congress members to their national leaders. Yeddyurappa has been mentioning the diary for the past few weeks.

Yeddyurappa said Siddaramaiah should recommend dissolution of the Assembly and go to the people’s court. “Taxpayers money had been looted. It is an unpardonable offence. Siddaramaiah has no option but to resign,” Yeddyurappa said.

On Congress’ charges that the diary is fake, Yeddyurappa said the document was seized by I-T officials from Govindaraj’s residence, mahajar was done and signatures of two witnesses were obtained. “Let Govindaraj own up and admit that the diary belongs to him. He will be able to lead a respectable life. Otherwise, he is bound to land in deep trouble,” he said.

Yeddyurappa said the “kickbacks” received by Siddaramaiah for the controversial steel flyover had also been exposed in the diary. Asked whether the entire contents of the diary had been revealed, Yeddyurappa said all he knew is that the diary seized by I-T officials had about 24 to 28 pages.

He said what had been exposed is just the tip of the iceberg. “Thousands of crores have been siphoned off in the irrigation and Public Works departments. If a through enquiry is conducted, the truth will come out,” he said.

Parameshwara questions authenticity

Siddaramaiah on Friday maintained silence on the charges that many of his ministers paid huge sums of money to Congress high command, while the party’s state unit chief G Parameshwara questioned the authenticity of the purported diary which contained information on the payments.

Siddaramaiah remained at his official residence “Kaveri” through the day. He visited Male Mahadeshwara Swamy temple at Chamarajpet in Bengaluru and offered pooja on the occasion of Shivaratri, in the evening. He remained incommunicado despite Opposition parties, BJP and JD(S), demanding his immediate resignation in the wake of the charges.

Parameshwara questioned the authenticity of the diary and its contents when a Kannada TV news channel approached him for his reaction. “The IT department has to clarify whether it has really seized the diary from Govindraj’s residence and reveal its actual contents. Till then, there is no point discussing it,” he stated.

Sources in the party said the issue is likely to come up for discussion at the KPCC co-ordination committee meeting on Sunday in Bengaluru.

Senior party leaders, including AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka Digvijaya Singh, party leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Siddaramaiah, are scheduled to attend the meeting. The panel is likely to chalk out a strategy to counter the BJP, the sources added.

Asked how Congress will counter the charges, KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the party will educate the people on the “dirty tricks” of the BJP.