CM Bommai rejects tender scam allegations, says Cong opened doors for corruption | Azad Times

Responding to Congress’ allegations on irregularities in the Karnataka government’s tender booking process, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that opposition leaders must remember the omissions and commissions during their tenure. He said, “The scams of the previous Congress government are being investigated by the Lokayukta and they owe an explanation to those charges. The Congress must reply to the questions regarding the tender scams during their period,” CM Bommai said.

"The Congress leaders are threatening BJP leaders with inquiry once they come back to power. That means they are coming to power to loot. They themselves have disclosed their agenda. The 40% commission charges are baseless and they have failed to produce evidence before the court. Enquiry is guaranteed if they file the case with all the specifications. Without doing it, firing in the air will not be helpful," he said.

"Making any statement without giving any evidence is of no use. The Congress ruled for five years and they also had called tenders. After the BJP came to power a committee headed by a judge went through all those tenders and everything is now being scrutinised. Now the tender process is very transparent and any one can give a complaint," CM Bommai said.

He said when DK Shivakumar was the Water Resources Minister, the tender inspection committee was removed as well as the Technical Advisory Committee. The two-level inspection system was shelved by the Water Resources Department. “The Congress had opened the avenues for corruption, but the BJP government had re-established the inspection system. So they have no moral rights to talk about corruption,” CM Bommai alleged.

Earlier in the day, Shivakumar had alleged that the Chief Minister's office was involved in collecting commissions while clearing old bills and approving new projects. The Congress also accused the state government of hurriedly floating tenders at the end of its tenure at inflated rates to collect funds for the BJP's Assembly election campaign.

Read: Congress accuses BJP govt of Rs 18000 crore scam in tender bookings