Karnataka Lokayukta raid: Congress calls state-wide bandh on March 9 to protest ‘rampant corruption’

The announcement comes after the Lokayukta police arrested Prashanth Madal, son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, for allegedly seeking bribes from a company supplying raw materials to the state-run KSDL.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar. (File)

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The Congress has called for a two-hour-long state-wide bandh in Karnataka on March 9 to protest against ‘rampant corruption’ under the BJP government. This announcement came after the Lokayukta police arrested Prashanth Madal, son of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, for allegedly seeking bribes from a company supplying raw materials to the state-run Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL).

Earlier, the Opposition party staged a protest in Bengaluru demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after Prashanth, who was serving as chief accountant of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh Thursday. On Friday, the Lokayukta police announced they seized around Rs 8.1 crore in cash from the MLA and his son. Virupakshappa has resigned as chairman of the KSDL and the agency has formed multiple teams to nab him.

The arrest has helped the Congress to further steer its campaign against the BJP government over corruption charges. “Lokayukta has exposed corruption in a government office. We have to bring it to the attention of the public and are also demanding the resignation of CM Bommai,” Congress leader Shivakumar told reporters Sunday, announcing the bandh.

The Congress has targeted the Bommai government over alleged corruption ever since the Karnataka State Contractors’ Association wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2021, alleging that bribes amounting to 40 per cent of project costs had to be paid to clear pending dues.

ಮಾರ್ಚ್ 9ರಂದು ಬೃಹತ್ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಸಲು ಉದ್ದೇಶಿಸಿದ್ದು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡು ಭ್ರಷ್ಟ ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಧ್ವನಿ ಎತ್ತಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿಸಿದೆ.

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— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) March 5, 2023

With the Congress on the offensive, Bommai said the arrest showed that the government did not tolerate corruption. He alleged that Rs 25 lakh was recovered from a minister’s office when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister. “They did not investigate it properly and closed it. If Lokayukta was strong then, all of them would have been booked. They protect the corrupt and close cases, whereas we have given all powers to Lokayukta,” he said.

The state government has referred 59 cases related to alleged irregularities during the Congress regime to the Lokayukta. The agency will investigate those cases, too, and bring out the truth, the chief minister said.

Shivakumar said the bandh will be held from 9 am to 11 am, without affecting schools, transport, or medical facilities.

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