Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that he was quite impartial and investigated the matter.
Bangalore (Karnataka):
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday criticized the Congress party over the alleged bitcoin scam and said the “issue had become bigger” as the opposition did not investigate the matter properly while in power.
“They (Congress) say that the matter started in 2016. If there was anything related to Karnataka, why did the party in power at that time not pay attention to it. You came to know about the accused but did not do proper investigation, An official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Further, Mr Bommai said, “Why didn’t you do a proper inquiry when you (Congress) were in power? You left it and the issue got bigger. And now you are questioning us.”
“Based on Twitter handle they are alleging scam. Anyone can raise this issue on Twitter. If you are raising this issue, you have to speak on the basis of evidence and witness,” he said.
“We are very impartial and are probing the matter. We have sent it to the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is on,” he said.
The Chief Minister also said that the government would not spare anyone involved in the scam. “If they have evidence, let them hand it over to the ED or the police, we will take immediate action,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Mr Bommai termed the allegations as “politically motivated” and asked the opposition to submit documents related to the scam to the investigating agencies, which are already probing the matter.
“Those who are making allegations, tell them what exactly is the scam and who is involved. The case has been handed over to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) 8-9 months back. The Interpol cell of CBI has also been informed about this. A case which has an international dimension,” he said.
He further said, “Our government has an open mind on this issue. There is no question of saving anyone. None of us is involved in this. Let them hand over the documents they have to the investigating agencies, let the truth come out.” ” ,
Meanwhile, Minister of State K Sudhakar also called the Congress a “party of corruption” over the alleged bitcoin scam and said that the state government has ordered a probe into the matter and the investigation team has included Interpol, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI.
Earlier, former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah alleged that politicians and officials were involved in a bitcoin scam in the state and investigating agencies were trying to keep them safe.
Meanwhile, state Congress chief DK Shivakumar claimed that it happened on a large scale and said it was shocking to hear the names of police officers, political leaders and businessmen in the scam.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
,