BJP & Congress spar over cash seizure at Bengaluru's Vidhana Soudha

BENGALURU: Following the seizure of Rs 10.5 lakh in unaccounted cash from a public works department (PWD) engineer at Vidhana Soudha, a war of words broke out between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress on Friday, with the two accusing each other of graft.
On Thursday, security at Vidhana Soudha arrested PWD engineer Jagadish with Rs 10.5 lakh cash after he failed to give a satisfactory reply about its source and handed over the money to Cubbon Park police.
Former CM and leader of opposition Siddaramaiah said the engineer might have come to pay the money to the chief minister or the PWD minister, CC Patil. "Bribery is going on at Vidhana Soudha. It is happening right under the nose of the chief minister. Whom did he come to pay? He might have come to pay the CM or the PWD minister," Siddaramaiah said.
Hitting back, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai reminded Siddaramaiah how Rs 25 lakh cash was allegedly seized from the staff of Congress MLA from Chamarajanagar, C Puttarangashetty, four years ago. "I would like to ask Siddaramaiah about the Rs 25 lakh found in the office of Puttarangashetty. What action did you take? Did you arrest the man who brought it or whom it was paid? Did you sack the minister? You are the one who shut the Lokayukta office," the CM alleged.
PWD minister CC Patil said Siddaramaiah's charges were far from the truth. "If he (the engineer with cash) had to pay me, then where was the need to come to Vidhana Soudha? He could have given me elsewhere," he added.
Congress state president DK Shivakumar said the incident once again proved nothing moves at Vidhana Soudha without paying bribe. "No bills are getting cleared without paying a 40 to 50 per cent bribe. They (the ruling BJP) ask for evidence when we accuse them of collecting 40 per cent commission. Isn't this incident proof," Shivakumar asked.
Congress MLA Priyank Kharge alleged that BJP does not mean Bharatiya Janata Party any more. "Today, it has become the Brokers' Janata Party. This Brokers' Janata Party has turned the pious Vidhana Soudha into a 'Vyapara Soudha' (business palace). It has become the world's biggest shopping mall, where people can purchase jobs, including those of police sub-inspectors, assistant engineers and assistant professors. Our top officials, ministers and MLAs are the best salesmen here," Kharge charged.
Meanwhile, home minister Araga Jnanendra said investigations were under way to find out whose cash it was, where he was taking it and why he had such a huge amount. "Investigations are on. At this juncture, I will not say anything," Jnanendra said.