Two ‘missing’ MLAs reach Vidhana Soudha ahead of floor test, join Congress camp

Bengaluru, Jul 27: Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that when COVID-19 has made life and livelihoods difficult, it is unfortunate that charges have been levelled of irregularities in the procurement of COVID-19 equipment.

"The Congress which has levelled charges against the ruling BJP has not so far filed a complaint with any investigating agency. Instead, the Congress has limited itself to getting publicity. On the other hand, the ruling BJP instead of coming clean by ordering a probe into the main charges is indirectly admitting the scam," Kumaraswamy said on Sunday.

"By washing dirty linen in public, both the Congress and the BJP are playing a cruel joke on people instead of protecting their lives," he said.

Hitting out at the BJP, he asked, "Why is it that the BJP is not ordering an investigation into the Rs 2,000 crore Covid 19 corruption charges levelled against the government by the Congress? Why is the government keeping quiet on the corruption charges?"

He said, "Is this the leadership provided by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa? There could be political pressure on seeking resignation of his Ministers. But why has no action been initiated against any officers? Is there any effort to destroy the evidence by retaining officers in their existing postings?"

"Hunger for publicity is evident when we look at the press conference by five Ministers at a time," he said.

The government has countered the charges of the Congress but backtracked on ordering an investigation, he said.

"Would this not give rise to suspicion that the government is involved in the scam?" he asked.

He also asked why Congress leaders have not filed a complaint before any investigating agency despite "possessing documents to prove the charges".

"Are the Congress leaders trying to get publicity or are they concerned about the welfare of the people? The Congress Legislative Party leader is seeking an account (Lekka Kodi) while the BJP president is seeking answers (Uttara Kodi). Is it enough to give such questions and answers?"

Is there a concrete legal plan to deal with the irregularities? he asked.

"Looking at the way the Congress leaders have addressed media conferences and taken to social media campaigns, it appears that they are trying to get publicity," he said.

Bengaluru, Aug 4: Karnataka on Tuesday reported its biggest single-day spike of 6,259 Covid-19 cases and 110 fresh deaths, taking the total infection count to 1,45,830 and the toll to 2,704, the health department said.

The day also saw a record 6,777 patients getting discharged after recovery, outnumbering the fresh cases. Out of 6,259 fresh cases, a total of 2,035 cases were from Bengaluru Urban district. The previous biggest single-day record was on July 30 when the state added 6,128 cases.

A bulletin from the department said cumulatively 1,45,830 Covid-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state and it included 2,704 deaths and 69,272 discharges. Out of the 73,846 active cases, as many as 73,212 patients were stable in isolation at designated hospitals while 634 in the intensive care units.

Among the fresh deaths, Bengaluru Urban accounted for 30 followed by Dakshina Kannada (13) and Mysuru (9).

Most of the people who succumbed either had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) or Influenza-like illness (ILI), the bulletin said. Besides Bengaluru Urban, the other districts which reported higher fresh cases on Tuesday are Mysuru 662, Kalaburagi 285, Ballari 284, Belagavi 263, Dakshina Kannada 225, Davangere 191, Dharwad and Hassan 188. Bengaluru Urban district continued to top the list of positive cases with a total of 63,033 infections, followed by Ballari 7,638 and Dakshina Kannada 6,388.

Among discharges too Bengaluru Urban tops the districts with 27,877 discharges, followed by Ballari 3,724 and Kalaburagi 3,470. A total of 14,89,016 samples had been tested so far, out of which 42,458 on Tuesday with 29,488 being rapid antigen tests.