Karnataka BJP leader R Ashoka on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, following allegations by the Karnataka State Contractors Association that the commission menace has continued unhinged under the Congress rule.
“When in Opposition, Siddaramaiah and DyCM D K Shivakumar shouted about “40% commission.” Today, under their rule, contractors themselves have exposed that the rate has doubled – Karnataka has become an 80% commission government!,” Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition, said in a post on X.
This came in the wake of a letter by the association to Siddaramaiah, urging him to clear pending dues to contractors and contending that “commission has doubled now compared to the previous government”. Subsequently, representatives of the Commission had gone back on the allegations, saying they were only seeking clearance of pending bills.
In his post, Ashoka asked why the ministers named in the letter had not come forward to deny the charges. “Why is the CM silent when the state’s reputation is being dragged through the mud? Why are projects like Bidadi Township being used as a pretext for illicit real estate deals and acquisition of fertile farmers’ land?” he said.
Calling it a height of betrayal, the BJP leader said that instead of transparency, Congress has only delivered harassment, loot, and backdoor corruption. “If CM Siddaramaiah has even a shred of dignity left, he must resign immediately. Karnataka cannot afford this brazenly corrupt Congress regime anymore,” he said.
The association letter dated September 25 had also alleged that tenders of various projects were being bagged by followers of elected representatives and Congress workers. These people, it said, subcontracted these projects to senior contractors in exchange for cuts. This would affect the quality of work implemented in the state, the association had said.
