Siddu terms I-T raid bribe allegations baseless

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit back against the Opposition BJP and in particular CT Ravi for suggesting that the raids conducted by Income Tax (I-T) Department sleuths against a contractor were related to the Congress.

The properties that were raided belonged to Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) vice president R Ambikapathy. The exercise allegedly yielded Rs 42 crores, which the Opposition JD(S) and BJP claims were bribes meant to be paid to the State government.

The ruling party of Telangana Bharat Rashtra Samiti has joined in the tirade and claimed this money would be used by Congress to fund poll campaigns in the five states where elections are due, besides the Lok Sabha polls of 2024. Polls in Telangana are due in November.

“It is a baseless allegation,” Siddaramaiah told mediapersons in Mysuru. “They contractors don’t ask us for bribes and we don’t give it to them either,” he added.

Former Chikkamagaluru MLA CT Ravi had been vocal in making the claim that these alleged bribes would make their way to poll-bound states. The comments come a day after KSCA president D Kempanna met Siddaramaiah, alleging that several officials had been demanding bribes from them.