Amid controversy over the death of contractor and BJP worker Santosh Patil, Karnataka State Contractors’ Association (KSCA) on Wednesday said they will expose ‘four to five ministers and around 25 MLAs’ if chief minister Basavaraj Bommai doesn’t meet them and resolve the issue of corruption.
Talking to the media, the office bearers of the KSCA said that apart from exposing the ministers, they will also stop all government works for a period of one month if the government doesn’t respond to their demands.
The KSCA has demanded an impartial inquiry into Patil’s death, either by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or by a retired Supreme Court or high court judge. The association added that the rural development and panchayat raj (RDPR) department settle pending ₹4 crores of Patil, pay his family ₹2 Crore compensation and give his wife a government job. “We want K. S. Eshwarappa to be immediately sacked as a minister and booked for pushing the contractor to death,” the Association said in a statement.
KSCA also sought an independent inquiry to unearth the ‘40% kickback scam’ in the government. The scam refers to Karnataka BJP ministers and MLAs demanding a 40% commission for every developmental work sanctioned by the government.
The association, in July 2021, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining that contractors were forced to pay a 40 per cent cut in civil works, which triggered a political storm. Speaking to reporters after the KSCA executive committee meeting, president D Kempanna said a rally will be held on May 25 in Bengaluru in which 50,000 contractors from different parts of the state will participate.
“Our multiple letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers BS Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai have failed to elicit any response, let alone resolution of the issue. BJP worker Santosh Patil made similar allegations and has sadly ended his life. This cannot go on forever. We are now forced to act,” said Kempanna.
The office bearers claimed they have been receiving threats after bringing the issue to the fore. “There are documents with many contractors about corruption, but they are afraid to release them as this is a ‘rowdyism’ government,” he said.
Talking about the state of corruption, Kempanna said that instead of using agents, ministers themselves are demanding bribes and also collecting cash. Stating that they have evidence to prove corruption charges against ministers and MLAs, he said that the association will make it public if the issue is not resolved soon.
Accepting that contractors were also in the wrong for being part of the nexus and paying kickbacks for ages now, he said the corruption in the state has crossed all limits. “Earlier, the kickbacks were in the range of 5-10%, but it has now crossed all bounds to over 40%, with the expectation to pay 10-15% for the contract to be awarded,” he said.
Kempanna told reporters that the health and family welfare department was the most corrupt. “There is massive corruption in the departments of irrigation, public works, rural development and panchayat raj and the BBMP. This is the most corrupt government. We met the CM 4-5 times. We have never seen a CM like this who remains silent,” Kempanna said, attacking Bommai.
He went on to add that health minister Dr K Sudhakar would not approve a tender if 5% of the project cost was not paid as a bribe in advance. “The department has taken up construction works worth ₹2,000 crore,” he alleged.
Responding to the allegation Sudhakar said that the statements were part of the Opposition’s ploy against the government. “This is a well laid out plot. None of the allegations made by him (Kempanna) has any proof. There is no provision in the law for contractors to make such allegations without proof. What does the KPTT (Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act) say? When all tenders are called under the KPTT act, where is the scope for corruption? And if there is corruption giving bribes is also a crime, right?” asked Sudhakar.
The minister said that contractors are tarnishing the image of the state. “As per the rule they (contractors should be blacklisted first). What is happening in our state? Who is behind these 40% kickback allegations? These people, who ruled between 2013 to 2019, didn’t take any bribes. We know who took how much. We have asked the government to take action against them. Personally, I will be filing a defamation case against Kempanna,” he said.
