Tribal welfare board scam has no connection to Congress govt, confidence in SIT probe — Siddaramaiah

BENGALURU — Coming down heavily on the opposition parties over allegations in connection with the multi-crore tribal welfare ‘scam’, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that there is no link to his government.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, he stated that the SIT is already investigating the financial irregularities that occurred in the tribal welfare board, and the government has full confidence in this investigation.

He accused the opposition parties of trying to tarnish his and the state government’s reputation.

Siddaramaiah noted that the investigation began on the same day the wife of Chandrasekaran, the accounts superintendent of the Valmiki Development Corporation, who committed suicide, filed a complaint. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), comprising four IPS officers, was formed on May 31 to investigate the case.

Based on a complaint from Mahesh, a Union Bank of India official, a CBI investigation is also underway, and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting an investigation on its own initiative.

The SIT has already arrested 12 people in connection with the case and seized cash worth Rs 34 crore, the Chief Minister said, adding that additionally, around Rs 46 crore transferred to various bank accounts have been frozen.

“We are not saying that there were no irregularities in the case. The government is committed to taking appropriate action against those who have committed wrongdoing,” he said.

Siddaramaiah also pointed out that during the legislative session, opposition party members expressed their views on the matter for over seven hours under Rule 69. Just as opposition parties have the opportunity to express their opinions in a parliamentary system, the government also has the right to state its position, he added.

He noted that an amount of Rs 89.63 crore from the Valmiki Development Corporation was transferred to the MG Road account of the Union Bank of India and then to various accounts, adding that the nationalised bank was under the jurisdiction of the Union Finance Ministry and the suicide note mentioned the involvement of bank officials.

He said Scheduled Tribe Welfare Minister B. Nagendra voluntarily resigned from his position and questioned why BJP leaders did not resign during the Bhoomi Development Corporation scam or the Rs 47.10 crore irregularity in the Devaraj Urs Truck Terminal scandal during the BJP regime. He also questioned why the ED did not take up those cases on its own initiative.

He said that instructions have already been issued to mandatorily deposit the funds of all development corporations into the state treasury and that several guidelines have been implemented by the Finance Department to ensure transparency in financial management.