Shobha Karandlaje alleges scams in health dept, BBMP; demands CBI probe

Bengaluru, Oct 5: Taking on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his remark that his was ‘kam ki bath’ as against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘man ki bath’, Bharatiya Janata Party State general secretary Shobha Karandlaje has alleged that it had become ‘loot ki bath’ in Congress-ruled Karnataka.

 At a press conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday, Shobha Karandlaje alleged that there were irregularities in implementation of various State and Central schemes. She charged the state government with violating rules while awarding contract for the Mathru Poorna scheme meant to meet the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating women in rural areas.

“The contract has been given to Veda Pharma, which had quoted the highest bid. What is the secret behind this?” she asked. Besides, the state government has claimed the scheme as its own while it was totally sponsored by the Centre.

Shobha accused the Siddaramaiah government of calling for tender for Rs 460 crore for issuing universal health cards without following Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement norms. “I am told Health Minister Ramesh Kumar is not aware of this contract as it is being directly handled by the chief minister. I wonder why Ramesh Kumar is silent on this issue,” she said.

She demanded that Siddaramaiah government furnish answers to the charges of corruption or order a CBI probe.

She charged that Rs 434 crore that the Centre had allotted for Karnataka AIDS Prevention Society was recalled by the Union government because of absence an action plan on the part of the state government.

The BJP leader charged that there has been misappropriation of funds in the setting up of Indira Canteens in Bengaluru. There has been misappropriation of Rs 20 lakh per canteen, she said.

There has been corruption in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) too, she said The cost to remove garbage per ward is Rs 14 lakh whereas it is being cleared by paying Rs 1.04 crore per ward, she claimed.

“An amount of Rs 584 crore is being drawn for salary of 34,000 pourakarmikas whereas there are only 11,000 pourakarmikas in Bengaluru as per the report submitted Chairman of the State Safai Karmachari Commission. What is happening to the extra amount?” Shobha asked.

She claimed that mechanical sweepers had been purchased by the BBMP at a cost of Rs 45 crore recently, but these have going “missing.” A tender for Rs 604 crore has again been called for purchase of more such vehicles, she said.