Responding to a notice issued by the Election Commission of India regarding the “corruption rate-card” advertisements published in newspapers by the Congress on Friday, state president DK Shivakumar on Sunday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were the ones who provided the “corruption rate-card”.
Also read: Karnataka elections: EC issues advisory asking parties to get clearance for print advertisement
“It was not me who gave the rate card. It was the BJP. It was BJP leaders Goolihatt Shekhar and H Vishwanath, who gave the rate card. The BJP has said how much the rate is for the post of the chief minister and the rate for Swamijis of Mutts. This rate card was given by BJP,” Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Ahead of the assembly elections, Congress had released a set of posters and advertisements which alleged that under the BJP-led government in the state, there were fixed rates of bribes that people needed to pay for jobs and transfers.
On Friday, the BJP alleged that Congress was making false allegations of corruption against them and filed a complaint with the EC.
On Saturday, the EC sought “empirical” evidence from the Congress party to prove its allegations of corruption and said that the party must submit the evidence before 7 pm on Sunday.
“It is a fair assumption that INC possesses the material/empirical/verifiable evidence based on which these specific/explicit ‘facts’ have been published, an action which can fairly be assessed to embed knowledge, motive and intent to do so by the author,” the EC notice read.
It also asked Shivakumar to “convey the empirical evidence of the same, for example, the evidence for rates for kinds of appointments & transfers, kinds of jobs and kinds of commission mentioned in the advertisement given by you along with if any explanation by 19.00 hrs on 7th May 2023 and also put that in the public domain.”
In its advertisements, Congress called the BJP the “trouble engine” and depicted various ‘scandals’ of the ruling government in the state including the ‘40 per cent commission’ charge by the state contractors.
The “corruption rate card” alleged that the ruling govt in the state had “looted” ₹1,50,000 crore in the last four years. “40% sarkara has looted over ₹1,50,000 crore from the people of Karnataka in the last 4 years… at this rate, there will be no state left. Stop the loot,” it stated.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Sunday called on the poll watchdog to seek proof from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his allegation that the Congress is taking part in backdoor political negotiations with those linked to terrorism.
“EC: Seeks proof from Congress for graft claims against BJP. What about Seeking proof from PM when he accused Congress of ‘backdoor political negotiations’ with those linked to terrorism!” Sibal tweeted.
The BJP are yet to respond to Shivakumar’s allegations
Meanwhile, the Income Tax department raided properties belonging to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge’s close aide, Arvind Chauhan, in Kalaburagi on Sunday.
The IT department raided the residence, hotels, office, and stone crusher unit belonging to Chauhan, according to officials.
On Saturday, the IT sleuths raided the residence of a former District Congress Committee minorities department chairman Waheed Ali Fatehkhani in Kalaburagi. Fatehkhani, who is into the real estate business, is also a close aide of Congress leader late Qamar-Ul-Islam’s family.
Also read: ECI cautions parties against provocative statements ahead of Karnataka polls
Reacting to the raids, Priyank Kharge on Sunday said that the BJP has become desperate and works as per their rule book by intimidating the Opposition.
“The BJP party has become completely desperate, and as per their rule book they are working. You see their standard operating procedure for any election. First, they try to bring in communal narratives, and then they try to bring in communal disturbances. Then if nothing is working and they are losing the election, they start using the central agencies to attack our leaders. That’s what is happening in Kalaburagi also.”