CM Siddaramaiah collected Rs 300 crore for Bihar polls: Former K'taka Minister

Bengaluru, Oct 29 (IANS) Karnataka BJP leader and former Minister B. Sriramulu's claim that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah collected Rs 300 crore for the Bihar elections to safeguard his position has stirred a major controversy.

Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar hit back at the allegation made by Sriramulu on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Chitradurga, Sriramulu alleged that CM Siddaramaiah had invited Ministers to a dinner party and collected Rs 300 crore from them.

"The Chief Minister's chair is shaking in the state, and the collection has begun. By handing over Rs 300 crore to the Congress high command, CM Siddaramaiah has attempted to save his chair. Like 'Kamadhenu', which grants every wish, CM Siddaramaiah is serving the Congress party in this regard," he said.

He also added that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to visit Delhi on November 15 and is under pressure to convince the Congress high command that he can manage everything in the state to retain his position.

"Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar, on the other hand, is eyeing the CM's post and wants the chair at any cost. He is also trying to impress the Congress high command. The state Congress has split into two factions," Sriramulu alleged.

When asked about Sriramulu's claim that both the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister had contributed a black fund of Rs 300 crore for the Bihar elections, D.K. Shivakumar quipped in Bengaluru, "It was Sriramulu who gave money to the Congress party, and we only sent that to the Bihar elections."

Karnataka Labour Minister Santosh Lad reacted strongly to Sriramulu's statement, saying, "Does the BJP have anything else to talk about? Will they now debate the Bihar elections? They have distributed Rs 7,500 crore to women and are seeking votes by emptying the government exchequer. Do they have any shame? Whenever elections come, they make such baseless allegations. They are in power in 20 states -- what is the situation there?"

"Don't they collect money in those 20 states? Didn't they spend huge sums of money during the Karnataka elections? Many speak only for political mileage," he added.

Expelled BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal also commented, saying, "Naturally, the Congress party will make arrangements. Karnataka is the only state where they can mobilise resources. A Congress MLA from Chitradurga was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on similar allegations. Raids were conducted after information surfaced that he had agreed to pay Rs 500 crore to the Congress high command to secure a ministerial post."

State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra had earlier alleged that the Congress-led government was looting Karnataka's money to hand it over to party leader Rahul Gandhi.

BJP MP B.Y. Raghavendra also claimed that all Ministers and departments in the state were engaged in collecting funds for the Bihar elections.

--IANS

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