BJP MLA alleges corruption in KRIDL after Congress legislator's letter to CM

Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharat Shetty on Tuesday said a letter written by a Congress legislator to Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar has exposed the extent of corruption within the state government.

Mr. Shetty was referring to an August 25 letter from Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai, which alleged that an Executive Engineer and a Junior Engineer at the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) office in Mangaluru had demanded an additional "7%" from contractors as a "KRIDL charge." The letter also claimed that the engineers collected money stating they had to make monthly payments to the district in-charge minister and the minister responsible for KRIDL.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Shetty said the KPSC scam and the excise department scam have also exposed the government. He alleged that in none of these corruption cases has the government conducted a serious investigation or taken the probe to a logical end, asking "What is the outcome?"

Mr. Shetty claimed that corruption is another guarantee of the Congress-led government. He cited former Upa Lokayukta B. Veerappa's statement that 63% of people in Karnataka had to pay bribes to get their work done in government offices, alleging that "payment quota ministers and officials have begun looting people."

He also noted that while the Congress had earlier charged the BJP government with a "40% commission," it could not substantiate the claim. Mr. Shetty demanded a judicial inquiry into each of the corruption cases. MLC Kishore Kumar Puttur was present.