Congress distributing money in Shiggaon: Basavaraj Bommai

Haveri, Nov 11 (IANS) BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai alleged on Monday that Congress is distributing money in Shiggaon ahead of the bypolls in the state.

“Congress MLAs and ministers in the Shiggaon constituency are undermining democratic values by seeking votes based on caste and distributing money. But the voters of the constituency would teach them a lesson,” said Bommai while speaking in Shiggaon.

Bommai maintained that he has witnessed many elections, but has never seen the entire government behave in this manner.

“It makes one question if this government has any belief in democracy. Ministers are disregarding democratic principles, openly seeking votes based on caste, and distributing money. In some places, people have rejected their money,” Bommai claimed.

Bommai said the incumbent Congress government has committed Rs 187 crore scam in the Valmiki Tribal Welfare Corporation. “That amount could have been used for the Valmiki community’s housing and Ganga Kalyana scheme. The reserved funds for the Valmiki community are being diverted to Hyderabad. The Chief Minister has admitted the scam, and one of their ministers has even gone to jail,” said Bommai.

He slammed the state government for withdrawing Rs 24,000 crore meant for SC/ST programmes and Rs 2,500 crore reserved for backward class corporations. “What moral right do you have to seek votes from the SC/ST and backward communities,” he said.

Mentioning the Wakf property scam, Bommai said that, in case of any issue, the Chief Minister calls a meeting. “The entire Kaginele village has been marked as Wakf property. Farmers’ fields, schools, and tanks are being marked as Waqf assets. In Hulagur, they had built around 200 houses under the slum board notification, and now they claim it’s Wakf property. This has led to calls to boycott voting and he is trying to convince the people against such decisions,” he said.

He added that the Wakf issue is like a plague, and farmers and the public will fight against this government.

“Government officials are under pressure in this administration. An official from the Valmiki Corporation committed suicide, an officer in Yadgir did the same, and an SDA took his life in Belagavi. In Shiggaon, officials are frustrated. The defeated candidate here is demanding money, and teachers have been fixed with monthly payments,” he claimed.

He said that the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Haveri changed his statement under pressure from the state government regarding the criminal record of the Congress candidate Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan for the Shiggaon constituency.

“The Haveri SP is claiming that there are no cases against the Congress candidate Pathan, due to government pressure. Bommai demanded an investigation into the SP’s statements and stated that they would be filing a complaint with the Election Commission tomorrow,” he said.

Bommai further claimed that last year, the Congress candidate faced multiple cases, with the SP himself clarifying the legal provisions from the police manual. Now, the government is denying any such cases, Bommai said.

In response to questions about Bitcoin allegations against the BJP candidate, his son Bharat Bommai, he noted that the state government has been investigating this issue for the past year and a half and asserted that there is no connection between Bitcoin and Bharat Bommai. “The allegations are baseless,” he said.

--IANS

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