Cong govt pushing Karnataka into bankruptcy with scams, diversion of funds: BJP

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) The BJP on Friday alleged that the Congress government in Karnataka is pushing the state into "bankruptcy" with scams and diversion of funds to serve its "political interests".

Claiming the involvement of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in two alleged scams in the state, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi alleged that the Congress did not allow BJP members to raise the issue in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to protect "some people" involved in these cases.

The Rajya Sabha on Friday witnessed noisy scenes during the Zero Hour after Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected notices by BJP members to suspend listed business of the House to discuss an issue related to corruption in Karnataka.

Dhankhar, however, allowed a BJP member to raise the matter in the House.

The Lok Sabha was briefly adjourned amid uproar by the opposition and the treasury benches over remarks to declare parts of Jharkhand and West Bengal a Union Territory and the alleged scams involving a minister in the Karnataka government.

"Karnataka is a progressive state but there are no medicines in hospitals, no proper roads there. Due to heavy rain this time, many houses collapsed and water went inside people's homes but the state government has not given any financial assistance to them," senior BJP leader Joshi told reporters in the Parliament complex.

State transport buses are parked because there is no money to buy diesel to run them, the Dharwad MP claimed.

"Under the Congress's rule, two-to-three scams have taken place in Karnataka and the chief minister is directly involved in two of these scams," Joshi said.

The Congress government is pushing Karnataka, which used to be a progressive and thriving state, into bankruptcy, the Union minister alleged and added that "funds meant for the welfare of SCs and STs in the state are being used to implement a guarantee (a Congress poll promise)". He also alleged that Congress members did not allow the BJP MPs to raise the issues in Parliament on Friday because its high command is responsible for the prevailing situation in Karnataka.

"The Congress government in Karnataka is corrupt. That is why they did not allow BJP members to raise the issue in Rajya Sabha. In the Lok Sabha, they created an uproar. This means that the Congress high command also had a share in it (the scams)," Joshi said.

The BJP is up in arms against the ruling Congress in Karnataka, claiming Siddaramaiah's involvement in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation scams.

The illegal money transfer issue, involving the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd, came to the fore after its accounts superintendent, Chandrashekhar P, died by suicide on May 26, leaving behind a death note.

The note alleged unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the corporation from its bank account, and from that, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally moved to various accounts allegedly belonging to "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank among others.

Following allegations against him in connection with the scam, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra tendered his resignation on June 6. He is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate.

The MUDA case is linked to fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by the authority, which involves plots given to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.

It had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.

The controversial scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.

Talking to reporters in the Parliament complex, BJP Rajya Sabha member and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that corruption and chaos is at its peak in Karnataka under the Congress's rule.

"The Congress diverted the SC/ST fund for implementation of its so-called guarantee to fulfil its political interests. Use of funds, meant for upliftment of the most deprived section of people, in political and personal interests through corruption is a very serious, sensitive and painful issue. We demand a high-level probe into it," he alleged and accused the Congress of creating an uproar in both Houses of Parliament. PTI PK PK ANB ANB