Yeddy to take Kumaraswamy head on!

CM, aides dig up JD(S) era files; claim to have unearthed explosive scams revealing irregularities in KPSC, illegal takeover of five-star hotels

In a bid to give his predecessors H D Kumaraswamy and H D Deve Gowda the taste of their own medicine, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has decided to release a "chargesheet" against the father-son duo that would expose an "avalanche of corruption" allegedly witnessed during the JD(S) regime in the state.



And if CM's aides are to believed, the Yeddyurappa government has already discovered some explosive cases - including alleged irregularities in Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) done during Kumaraswamy's tenure and the Gowda family's "illegal" takeover of two five-star hotels.

"We have unearthed at least 10 new scams in which the Gowda family is involved," said B J Puttaswamy, political secretary to the chief minister. "Some more are likely to surface soon. The documents we have procured are enough to establish that the family is the most corrupt in the state."

Yeddyurappa, on Wednesday, had announced that he would release the chargesheet in response Kumaraswamy's allegations that the CM's family had illegally taken over a cement factory in Belgaum. The JDS alleged that the chief minister misused office to extend undue favours to bail out the debt-ridden company.
Kumaraswamy had disclosed the new scam linking Yeddyurappa and his family in Delhi, apparently to make it a national issue. And Yeddyurappa seems to be all set to pay his rival in the same coin. The BJP is likely to release the "chargesheet" within a week's time and Yeddyurappa will decide whether it should be released in Delhi or Bangalore.

A source close to the chief minister said the KPSC scam was the major among the scams as it would expose nepotism practiced by the Gowda family during recruitments to government posts. Earlier, Yeddyurappa had also threatened to sue Kumaraswamy and Siddaramiah, leader of the opposition in the assembly, for defaming him by making baseless allegations against him.

While Kumaraswamy had produced some documents to substantiate his allegations on acquiring the cement factory, Siddaramiah, who had accused Yeddyurappa of evading income tax to the tune of Rs 339 crore, failed show documentary evidence. However, sources said the chief minister was not so keen on filing a defamation suit now, as he was working overtime on the "chargesheet". Reacting to the allegations, Kumarswamy said, "I welcome Yeddyurappa to release the chargesheet or whatever. I know he can't find anything to fix us as we have done nothing wrong."

Penalty at the altar
Yeddyurappa and Kumarswamy will pay thappu kanike, a penalty, at Dharmasthala temple today for going back on their words to under go truth test before the Lord Manjunatha. Yeddyurappa had dared Kumarswamy to swear in the shrine after the latter accused him of trying to buy his silence on his alleged scams. Kumarswamy accepted the challenge, and the swearing match was scheduled for June 27 at the Dharmasthala temple.
While the unprecedented farce created a tumult in the state politics, pontiffs of the religious matts intervened to advise both the politicians to drop it. Even BJP national president Nitin Gadkari chided the chief minister, who obliged to stop the drama.

However, it is believed that once you determine to something in the name of Lord Manjunatha you can not go back on it. The remedy is to pay the thappu kanike and ask for the forgiveness, in case you are not able to keep your words.

Hence, the chief minister and the former chief minister will each pay Rs 11 to the temple as penalty, when they will visit the temple separately. Veerendra Heggade, trustee of the temple, said Yeddyurappa will perform the puja at 10 am, while 1 pm is allotted for Kumarswamy.

Even in the farcical development, the politics is not left behind. Some 35 BJP MLAs have left for Dharmasthala to show their solidarity to CM. While a luxury bus ferried them to the pilgrimage centre, Yeddyurappa took train to reach there. Some 20 JD (S) legislators are accompanying Kumaraswamy.