Stumped by the seizure of ₹25.76 lakh in cash from a typist employed in the office of Backward Classes Welfare Minister C. Puttaranga Shetty by the police, the Congress has demanded dismissal of the employee while the BJP and a few JD(S) leaders have demanded immediate resignation of the Minister.
The former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday demanded dismissal of the typist, Mohan. BJP leaders Jagadish Shettar and B.S. Yeddyurappa, both former Chief Ministers, demanded the resignation of the Minister.
JD(S) leader and former Chairman of the Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti too demanded the resignation of the Minister to ensure a free and impartial probe by the police.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, however, said he would wait for the police to complete the investigation before taking any action. “Let them hold a transparent and fair inquiry. I am not the kind of a person who is going to influence any investigating agency. We will wait for the investigation to complete and take a decision based on the investigation report,” he said in Hubballi.
Second time
This is the second time the police have seized cash from the State Secretariat premises. In October 2016, the police seized ₹2.5 crore from a private car during a regular security check at the west gate of the Vidhana Soudha.
Mr. Siddaramaiah told reporters that the police should conduct an impartial probe and punish the guilty. Meanwhile, the employee has to be sacked, he said.
Meanwhile, State Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao said the amount seized was nothing before the alleged loot of ₹30,000 crore in the Rafale deal by the NDA government.
“The Modi government is not ready to even constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to look into the defence deal,” he said.
Later, Mr. Rao said only a probe would reveal the source of the money. If proved guilty, he said, the Congress would not spare any of its leaders.
Meanwhile, Mr. Yeddyurappa said corruption was rampant in the coalition government, particularly in transfer of officials and clearance of files. Criticising “laxity” in the functioning of the JD(S)–Congress government, Mr. Shettar said corruption was rampant at all levels of the State administration.
ACB to probe case
The case has been transferred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) based on instructions by Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar on Saturday.
The typist, Mohan, is in police custody and is yet to be formally arrested. The police during their inquiry found that Mohan, a resident of Malleswaram, is a temporary contract employee drawing salary from the government.