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Bangalore: Barely two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi to plead strongly Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s demand for a “commission” to ensure that the BJP government has a “clean image” in the state and allegations of corruption in government contracts have hit state officials.
In a rare incident, the Karnataka State Contractors Association has accused the BJP government, MPs, MLAs and officials in the state of harassing them by paying commission of up to 40 per cent on government tenders.
The allegations come on the heels of an alleged bitcoin scamThis has already created trouble for the Bommai government.
The allegations by the contractors’ association were first leveled in a letter the association wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office on 6 July 2021, when former chief minister BS Yediyurappa was still in office. The association made the letter public last week, seeking relief from the “continued harassment”.
“Commission demand has been the norm for decades now, but it has never been so high. Since 2019, contractors have been harassed with demands for commission at every stage of a project. The union has never written such a letter. If we have done this now, please imagine our plight,” Karnataka State Contractors Association president D. Kempanna told ThePrint on Friday.
He claimed that he was inviting the wrath of the government and bureaucracy for making their problems public.
“Some concerned minister insists and harasses to pay 5% of the tender amount before acceptance of tender and issue of work order. Very few elected representatives of the Lok Sabha insist and harass for payment of 2% on the tender before starting the work,” alleged a letter sent by the association to the PMO in July. ThePrint has a copy of the letter.
The letter also alleged that at the taluk level, the elected representatives demand five per cent of the tender amount for building construction and 10 per cent on road works. According to the letter, local registered contractors in Karnataka reportedly have to pay 25%-30% to elected representatives and others. It is alleged in the letter that after completion of the work, they are harassed to pay 5%-6% for issuance of Letter of Credit (LOC) against pending bills.
Speaking to ThePrint, Kempanna alleged that the situation remained the same despite the change of chief ministers. “We were expecting to see some reduction in harassment with the new chief minister. Nothing has changed so far,” he claimed, adding that senior government officials were being pressured to oppose the claims made in the letter sent by the contractors’ union to the PMO.
While Bommai, who took charge as Karnataka chief minister on July 28, told the media that the state government has already ordered a probe into the matter, he dismissed the contractors’ union letter as lack of evidence. However, the Congress seized the opportunity to request the Governor to dismiss the BJP government in the state.
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No evidence, yet inquiry ordered: Bommai
allegedly already under investigation bitcoin scamCM Bommai’s face has turned red as the four-month-old letter reappeared.
“After my government was formed, I asked the chief secretary to scrutinize all the tenders, even those that were allotted after I became the chief minister. If there are discrepancies, the guilty will be punished. I don’t know why the contractors wrote to the PMO, but this is a normal letter with no evidence or evidence yet we are ordering a probe. This we are transparent,” Bommai told reporters on Thursday.
He said that two committees will be formed under the chairmanship of retired judges to evaluate the tender estimates and conditions. Bommai’s emphasis on “his government” appears to be an attempt to distance himself from the allegations against the previous Yeddyurappa government.
Responding to the CM’s doubts about why the letter was written, Kempanna told ThePrint, “We had written the letter to the PMO as no one in the state government was listening to us. How can they expect contractors to do good work if we have to pay 40 per cent of our tender amount? I have been working as a government contractor for 35 years, but I have never seen such high demand for bribe.”
Read also: Karnataka may reserve 10% land for EWS category entrepreneurs, raise 75% concession on value
Congress asks Governor to ‘reject’ BJP government
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Congress leaders on Thursday evening submitted a memorandum to Karnataka Governor Tavarchand Gehlot, expressing concern over allegations of corruption.
“We cannot keep silent when this kind of widespread corruption is taking place. We have demanded that this government should be dismissed and a judicial inquiry should be ordered.
In its letter, the contractors’ union has also alleged that the conditions for receiving tenders on the government’s e-procurement portal were “unjust”. “Direct works are allotted to unregistered contractors who are close allies of politicians by collecting 10 per cent commission on the estimated cost,” Kempanna alleged on Friday.
Congress in its memorandum also alleged that some contractors hired hackers to manipulate tender allocations, including the hacking of government portals currently being investigated by the CID and the masterminds of the bitcoin scam. Taking reference from the case of Shri Krishna Ramesh, to support their claims. The party has also pointed to the recent Anti-Corruption Bureau raid On officers of various departments as “witnesses” of the Commission’s claims.
Ironically, during the campaign for the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Guilty The then Congress government was a government with “10 percent commission”.
When reminded of the PM’s allegations, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Siddaramaiah told reporters on Thursday, “It was a political speech with no basis. But here is a document – a letter from the contractors themselves, accusing the BJP government of being a government with 40 per cent commission.
Read also: How did Karnataka Congress use Mekedatu to promise to ‘expose BJP’s dual engine growth’?
Bommai in constant tension
CM Bommai hit back on Friday, terming the Congress memorandum as ‘ridiculous’. “Tenders from their time will also be scrutinized,” he said.
However, BJP sources say that the timing of the charge has added to Bommai’s tension. “For a newly elected chief minister, the honeymoon period is six months. But for a mid-term chief minister like Bommai, it is only three months. That phase is over now and challenges are coming its way. If he is able to prove himself then we have no problem in accepting him as a capable leader. said In September, ThePrint indicated that the road ahead for Bommai would not be easy.
Complaints against Bommai from within the party and the government include an alleged slow pace of paperwork. “Two letters I sent to the Chief Minister during the first week in his office are still lying on his desk. Here, I have made a list of files that they have kept pending,” a senior minister in Bommai cabinet told ThePrint. According to government sources, the delay in clearing the files is said to have added to the displeasure of the contractors.
Read also: BJP’s 1-1 result in Karnataka by-polls Yeddyurappa’s victory, a step back for CM Bommai
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