Disgruntled BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal issued a warning on Tuesday, threatening to disclose the alleged irregularities in the Karnataka BJP administration under B S Yediyurappa during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak, to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore, should he be ousted from the party.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah swiftly refuted Yatnal’s claim, claiming that the irregularities that occurred during Yediyurappa’s tenure as chief minister were evidence of their accusations that the state had a “40 per cent commission government” while the BJP was in power.
As many BJP leaders have been demanding action against him, Yatnal said, ‘They (the BJP government in Karnataka) have done everything (huge corruption during Covid). Let them serve me a notice and try to expel me from the party, I will expose them.’ Yatnal, who has launched a tirade against Yediyurappa and his family, especially after his second son B Y Vijayendra was made the BJP state president, said there was large-scale corruption in coronavirus management during the BJP government.
‘A mask that costs Rs 45 each, Mr Yediyurappa how much did your government spend on each of them during Covid? They had put a price of Rs 485 for each mask…,’ the agitated BJP MLA said in Vijayapura.
‘They (BJP government) said they arranged 10,000 beds in Bengaluru. The rent for these beds…remember that it was taken only on rent…if they had purchased then two beds could have been bought (for the same price). They paid Rs 20,000 as rent per day. Two cots with saline stands could have been purchased with Rs 20,000. Do you know how much they spent a day during corona?’ Yatnal further said.
Yatnal responded that the Public Accounts Committee had the records when he was asked to give them. He requested that reporters speak with H K Patil, the Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs and the former chairman of the BJP.
The MLA from Vijayapura stated that he was also requested to lead the Public Accounts Committee, but he insisted on making everything available to the public. He was not appointed as a result.
“Are you aware of the thousands of crores of rupees that were pilfered in this [Covid] case?” Yatnal asserted that there were violations of Rs 40,000 crore during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The MLA claims that during the BJP government, bills totaling between Rs eight lakh and Rs ten lakh were made for each patient.
He said that the cost of his medical stay at a private superspecialty facility came to Rs 5.8 lakh.
Despite having the right to get a medical claim from the government, he expressed his preference to pay for his own care.
Yatnal’s allegation, according to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, is evidence of widespread corruption during the Covid era.
He added that the Congress, when it was in opposition, had organised a news conference and presented documents alleging that the Yediyurappa government had embezzled funds of approximately Rs 4,000 crore for the purpose of treating and controlling coronavirus.
But based on Yatnal’s claim, corruption appears to have been ten times greater than the Congress party estimated.
Yatnal was appealed to by Siddaramaiah, who stated that his allegations should not be treated like a hit-and-run incident.
Yatnal ought to pursue their accusations through to the end if he is sincere about eliminating corruption. The Chief Minister stated, “For this, he should turn over to the commission of inquiry formed (by the Congress government) under the leadership of retired High Court Judge Justice Nagmohan Das all the information he has about corruption during the coronavirus pandemic.”
In addition, he questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over these accusations.
