Lokayukta raid on Channagiri MLA’s residence will not affect party, says Shettar

The former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has insisted that the recent raid on the residence of a BJP legislator from Channagiri constituency Madal Virupakshappa and the arrest of his son Prashant, who was caught red-handed accepting a bribe of ₹40 lakh, will not be a setback for the party in the ensuing Assembly elections.

Mr. Shettar, who is leading the BJP’s Vijay Sankalp Yatra in the Kalyana Karnataka region, addressing a press conference in Kalaburagi on Sunday before launching the yatra, said that recent raid by the Lokayukta on the residence of Mr. Virupakshappa and his son Prashant’s arrest are not going to affect the party.

Even the Congress leaders have been accused of indulging in multi-crore scams, he said and added that a case pertaining to the deletion of BDA land meant for Arkavathy Layout has been lodged against the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. And, therefore, he [Mr. Siddaramaiah] took away all the powers of the Lokayukta and set up the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), he said.

However, the Justice Kempanna Commission, which probed into the alleged illegality in Arkavathy Layout by Siddaramaiah, has submitted a report to the government. If the commission report is tabled in the Assembly, the corrupt practices of the previous Congress government and Mr. Siddaramaiah will be exposed, he said.

Replying to a question, Mr. Shettar said that the pro-BJP wave in the State has rattled the Congress. He exuded the confidence that the BJP will win at least 130 to 140 seats and form a government with full majority in the State this time.

He said that the BJP-led government is committed to ensuring the development of Kalyana Karnataka region and our [BJP] government has announced a grant of ₹5,000 crore to the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board in the recent budget.

Railway division

Establishing a railway division in Kalaburagi was the dream of the former Minister of State for Railway late Suresh C. Angadi. He was seriously concerned about the project and now, it looks like a distant dream. Anyhow, Mr. Shettar expressed his solidarity with the long-pending demand of the region for a railway division.

Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizer, New and Renewable Energy Bhagwant Khuba and BJP State vice-president Malikayya Guttedar were present.