Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 27 : Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president BY Vijayendra on Tuesday demanded that a proper investigation must be conducted into the excise scam involving more than Rs 6,000 crore, while also pressing that state excise minister Ramappa Timmapur resigns.
The investigation must be carried out either by a sitting High Court judge or by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he asserted.
Speaking to the media here, Vijayendra said that the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) are jointly staging a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha against the "corrupt" Congress government.
"Rs 6,000 crore scam wherein the excise minister and his family members are involved, and proof has already emerged, but CM Siddaramaiah is not willing to discuss this on the floor of the house. Investigation by the CBI or a sitting high court judge is the only answer to the entire scam. The Siddaramaiah government is trying to cover up the entire scam, creating drama. Outside the house and inside the house, we are going to demand the resignation of the excise minister," Vijayendra told reporters here.
He stated that the Karnataka Leader of Opposition (LoP) R Ashok, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, JD(S) leaders Suresh Babu and Bhojegowda, along with MLAs and MLCs from both parties, are participating in the protest.
He added that the entire country has witnessed how Congress goons behaved in a hooligan-like manner towards Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot inside the Assembly.
Vijayendra said that even the name of the Excise Minister himself is being mentioned in the excise scam, and that the names of the minister's family members are also surfacing. Despite this, the Chief Minister is not allowing discussion on the issue in the Assembly, he alleged.
He accused the state government of attempting to turn Karnataka into a state of alcoholics. "I have been repeatedly saying this. Liquor is being sold even in grocery shops in rural areas," he said.
He alleged that over the last two-and-a-half years, the government has increased excise targets by 35 per cent to fill the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's treasury and to fund the so-called guarantees. He claimed that it has become impossible for excise department officials to get postings without paying crores of rupees in bribes.
As a result of all this, the government has allowed liquor sales even in rural grocery stores and permitted illegal liquor sales, the BJP leader said, adding that the government has enabled this just to fill its coffers.
"Karnataka has never seen such a shameless and disgraceful government in its history," he remarked.
He said people are cursing the government. Instead of thinking about public welfare, the Chief Minister is repeatedly talking about guarantees and destroying the lives of poor rural families, which he termed unfortunate. He said protests are being held on multiple issues and demanded the resignation of the Excise Minister and a proper investigation into the matter.
Vijayendra alleged that Siddaramaiah and his government consider the Hon'ble Governor as a paid servant. He recalled how Governors were misused during Indira Gandhi's tenure, which the entire country witnessed. He stated that the President's Rule had been imposed 90 times when the Congress was in power at the Centre.
He further said that the Governor was insulted and ill-treated during the joint session of the legislature, and now the government is justifying such behaviour. He questioned the purpose of Congress leaders now planning padayatras and gheraos, asking, "For what self-respect are you laying siege?"
Vijayendra alleged that the Congress government has not announced a single new scheme in the last two-and-a-half years and has failed to undertake development work. He criticised Siddaramaiah's government as being steeped in corruption and accused it of destroying the entire system.