Karnataka Congress leaders on Thursday, July 18 dismissed Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) allegations that a substantial amount of funds were misappropriated from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) to purchase liquor and luxury cars during the Lok Sabha elections. The ED on July 17, said that they have recovered evidence to prove that the funds diverted from the Corporation were used during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. ED also alleged that around Rs 90 crore was diverted to several accounts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
It was an unusual sight as five ministers came together for the press meet. Ministers Dinesh Gundurao, Krishna Byregowda, Priyank Kharge, Santhosh Lad, Energy Minister KJ George and Chief Minister's Legal Adviser Ponnana spoke to the media and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using central agencies to topple governments.
The ED also said that the diverted funds were layered through fake and shell accounts, with cash and bullion dispersed among the accused. “B Nagendra, the former minister, also resigned following the exposure of the scam. Furthermore, during the course of the investigation, ED uncovered that a substantial amount of funds were utilized to procure a significant quantity of liquor just prior to the general elections. Additionally, high-end vehicles, including a Lamborghini, were purchased using proceeds from the scam,” the ED alleged.
Addressing the press meet, Congress Minister Krishna Byregowda said that from 2014, ED’s registration of cases increased by 400% and 95% of the cases were against oppositions. “Only 5% were registered against BJP and their alliance partners. We can give many examples to say that BJP is a washing machine. When the Congress government was in power, ED registered only 53% of cases against all parties. Of this, 47% were filed against Congress and its alliance partners”, he added.
Dinesh Gundurao said that the Union government’s agenda of wanting a single-party system is being replicated in Karnataka using the ED and cited examples of Arvind Kejriwal, Hemant Soren, DK Shivakumar and others who were jailed in alleged scams.
“When the BJP feels like their state wing is collapsing, the Union government uses central agencies to topple governments. In the last ten years, you can count how many governments they toppled,” said Priyank Kharge, mentioning horse trading in several states like Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Karnataka, Gujarat, Assam, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Meghalaya. He added that 14 opposition parties have filed petitions in the Supreme Court alleging misuse of IT, ED and CBI and that Congress will fight the allegations legally.
The press conference by the Congress party comes just days after former Minister and Congress MLA B Nagendra was arrested on July 12, in connection with embezzling funds from the Valmiki corporation while he was serving as Minister.
KJ George assured that the government will take action and do the investigation without any interference. “Nagendra has resigned and is coordinating with the investigation. A Special Investigative Team was formed and CBI and ED are on the case. When the investigation is going on. It’s nothing but political malpractice by the BJP,” he said.
Allegations of a major financial scandal involving fraudulent transactions worth crores came to light following the death of an accounts superintendent from KMVSTDC on May 26. Next to his body was a handwritten six-page suicide note, revealing the intense pressure he allegedly faced from his superiors to facilitate unauthorised fund transfers of over Rs 80 crore.
