Bengaluru(Aryavarth): Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, now the leader of the opposition in the assembly, Thursday claimed to have documents to prove his allegations of a Rs 2,000-crore scam in the procurement of Covid-related medical equipment by the B.S. Yediyurappa government.
Addressing the media in state capital Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah shared what appeared to be official documents purportedly signed by state government authorities. These included documents that seemed to detail the purchase of 1,000 ventilators, which are a key medical equipment for the treatment of critical Covid-19 patients.
According to the documents shared by the leader, the cost price of 1,000 ventilators is Rs 4 lakh per piece, which should have cost the Karnataka government Rs 40 crore. The Yediyurappa government, however, paid Rs 120 crore for the same number of ventilators, Siddaramaiah alleged.
He said the documents also indicated that the Karnataka government bought ventilators at three different prices — Rs 5.6 lakh, 12.32 lakh and 18.2 lakh — on three different dates.
“The BJP government has indulged in corrupt practices in purchasing equipment like masks, ventilators, sanitisers, beds, PPE kits and thermal scanners,” Siddaramaiah added.
The Congress leader said, contrary to the BJP’s claims that they have not “misused a single rupee”, he has “enough documents to prove their corruption”.
“CM Yediyurappa in his public address (on 21 July) promised that the government will provide information about all purchases made to handle Covid-19 within 24 hours. We have sent more than 20 letters seeking details of the expenditure incurred by the various departments and the purchases. Where are the details?” he said. “Why is the government not being transparent, Are they not answerable to the people and the legislature… What do they have to hide if their books are clear ?”