Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge demands probe into purchase of  COVID-fighting gear

BENGALURU:  Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Mallikarjun Kharge have slammed the State Government over alleged irregularities in the purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other COVID-fighting equipment. Pointing out that the Public Accounts Committee under H K Patil had raised the issue, Kharge said all purchases of PPEs and other equipment to fight the Coronavirus by the government should be investigated. 

This comes days after Opposition leader Siddaramaiah criticized the government over alleged serious irregularities in the purchases and demanded a white paper on all expenditure incurred.  He had also alleged that the government had paid two to three times more for certain equipment like ventilators, where Rs 12 lakh was paid for what costs Rs 4 lakh per unit.

The Public Accounts Committee had also raised the issue in the last few meetings and it is scheduled to come up when the committee meets on Tuesday and health authorities will have to answer questions regarding purchases. The Health Department had, during the last meeting, assured that they will submit the details on July 6.  Mallikarjun Kharge also stressed on the need for transparency in the India-China border developments and said we need to guard our frontiers and ensure not an inch of our land is lost.