Deepavali 'cash gifts' to journalists: CM Bommai calls it a 'lie, part of Congress strategy'

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai denied involvement and referred to the allegations as "a lie" and "part of the Congress' toolkit" on Sunday, after they surfaced that his office had attempted to bribe some journalists by sending them 1 lakh cash gifts to them on Diwali, along with sweet boxes.

The Chief Minister said that someone has filed a complaint with the Lokayukta over the matter, and that everyone should wait for the inquiry to conclude for the truth to be revealed.

The Congress has that a fraud case be filed against Mr. Bommai and called for his resignation after allegations surfaced on Saturday that he attempted to bribe journalists by giving them 1 lakh in cash presents for Diwali. It also asked for a judicial investigation into the claims.

"This is the result of Congress' tool kit, they are trying to create a lie. I have not given any instructions to anyone (to give cash gifts)," Bommai replied to a question about Diwali cash gifts from his office to journalists, Congress' tweets regarding it, and the tendency to see journalists as "thieves" as a result.

Mr. Bommai told reporters that the media had revealed what presents were provided by different persons while the Congress was in control, including iPhones, computers, and gold coins.

"What morality do they (Congress) have? Above all, someone has filed a complaint in this regard to Lokayukta and Lokayukta will investigate. It is not right to interpret that the gifts were given or all journalists have taken it. Yesterday, a Congress spokesperson interpreted it very wrongly. I condemn it," he added.

Mr. Bommai stated, "The matter is before the Lokayukta, it has a police agency, let the truth come out from the inquiry," in answer to a query about if he would initiate an investigation since his own office is facing an accusation.

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The non-profit group Janaadhikara Sanghasha Parishath has filed a case with the Karnataka Lokayukta, claiming that the Chief Minister bribed journalists by giving them expensive gifts for Diwali.

As reported by the JSP's R Adarsh Iyer, Prakash Babu B K, and Vishwanath V B, the Chief Minister allegedly paid bribes to the chief reporters of numerous media outlets via a close aide, and some of those reporters reported the incident to their superiors before returning the bribe money.

(With inputs from PTI)