Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday, November 10 said that an investigation into allegations of irregularities during COVID-19 pandemic will proceed after cabinet approval. The Justice Michael D'Cunha committee, constituted to probe the alleged Covid scam, recently submitted a report alleging misappropriations during the pandemic under the previous BJP government, when BS Yediyurappa was the Chief Minister.
The 1,500-page report, submitted on October 11, is being examined in detail by a sub-committee. The Commission had submitted its interim report in August this year and portions of the report came out on November 9. In August, the Commission was given a six-month extension to submit its final report. The report accuses former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former Health Minister B Sriramulu of corruption and recommends prosecuting them under Sections 7 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Addressing reporters, Siddaramaiah explained that the report, currently under review by a cabinet sub-committee, uncovered alleged overpayments for equipment and medicines, with items like PPE kits purchased at inflated prices from overseas suppliers instead of local sources. “I had highlighted this misappropriation of over Rs 2,000 crore as Leader of the Opposition. They chose to buy medical equipment from overseas suppliers at inflated prices instead of procuring them locally,” he said. “The BJP may claim political vendetta, but our goal is transparency and accountability,” he added.
Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the report recommends recovery of money paid to the companies for procuring equipment at inflated prices. He said that further investigations would occur after the bye-elections.
RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge condemned the BJP’s handling of COVID-19 and said, “The BJP government in Karnataka profited during COVID while people lost their lives for the government’s apathy.” He added that over 3 lakh PPE kits were bought at inflated rates from Chinese firms without following standard procurement procedures.
“The report also says the procurement was directly influenced by the CM and Health Minister, bypassing transparency rules and the records were allegedly manipulated to show post-facto approval. Even though local suppliers were available, they were overlooked for the direct purchase from the Chinese firms,” he further said in a social media post.
Responding to the allegations, Yediyurappa said it was politically motivated, suggesting they were aimed at undermining the BJP ahead of Karnataka’s by-elections. “All actions were lawful, and these accusations won’t yield any real consequence,” Yediyurappa said, adding that the allegations would not impact the results.