Karnataka Governor’s love for the good life, Mercedes: Is PM watching?
Bengaluru: In what seems like the first salvo that has been fired in a war between the two most powerful men in the state, sources have let it be known that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hand-picked Governor for the Congress-ruled state of Karnataka has been a little more lavish than his mentor would have liked.
But first, the facts. On Thursday, it became known that the expenses incurred by Raj Bhavan in the last nine months after Mr Vajubhai Vala took over as Governor, added up to Rs 5 crores, with Rs 1.3 crores spent on chartered flights between the period of September 1, 2014 and May 13, 2015 alone - to Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Surat. Besides, over Rs 4 crores was spent to spruce up Raj Bhavan that had seen its previous occupant doing the same.
Raj Bhavan has also reportedly requested the state government to buy a high-end Mercedes Benz car in the range of Rs 85-95 lakh for Governor Vala. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s government is yet to take a call on the request.
During the Prime Minister’s visit, Raj Bhavan bought a television for Rs 2.3 lakh, which has still not been approved by the state government, sources said. Governor Vala’s staff appointments have also been hit by controversy as at least 6 - 7 officials of various rank from Gujarat were brought to the city and in one case, a computer operator who was drawing Rs 11,000 in Gujarat is being paid a salary of Rs 40,000. The Raj Bhavan had in fact wanted his salary to be fixed at Rs 60,000. This was rejected by the government.
The Governor was on his way to Hubballi for a wedding on Thursday, and had chartered a flight to attend the wedding of his secretary’s son, which he quickly scrapped when news of his alleged profligacy broke. On Wednesday when reporters sought the CM’s reaction to the expenses of governor, Mr Siddaramaiah refused to react. “Not appropriate to comment on this issue,” said law minister T.B. Jayachandra.
Sources close to the developments say however that the government could be settling scores with the Governor who has refused to co-operate with the Siddaramaiah government, rejecting the nominations to the KPSC, sending back two bills including the Panchayat Raj amendment bill and returning the list of names recommended for the posts of vice chancellor to a number of universities. The expenses of Raj Bhavan, like the President’s official home, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, are not audited.
