Bengaluru: Cashgate! BJP demands Election Commission to probe Byregowda

Bengaluru: The BJP has demanded the resignation of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Minister Krishna Byregowda after a huge amount of unaccounted cash, which allegedly belongs to Narayana B. Patil, engineer in the RDPR department, was seized by income tax officials

Addressing media persons here on Friday, BJP general secretary N. Ravikumar and party MLC Tejaswini Gowda alleged that through contractors, Mr Byregowda was collecting money for the coming Lok Sabha elections. His department official Narayana Patil was absconding soon after I-T officials seized the money, said the BJP leaders while demanding that the Election Commission should investigate the matter and take suitable action against Mr Byregowda.

“A huge amount was seized at Rajmahal Hotel, the IT officials have also recovered Rs 25 lakh from the driver of Narayana Patil. The seizure has proved that this government is a '10 to 20 percent commission' government. To meet election expenses, the minister has been collecting money from contractors and his department engineer is also involved in the crime,” the BJP leaders alleged.

Recently, the personal assistant (PA) of Backward Classes Minister Puttaranga Shetty was arrested for allegedly collecting money from contractors. He had later revealed that he collected money on behalf of the minister, the BJP leaders claimed. The Election Commission has issued a circular prohibiting the carrying of more than Rs 50,000 in cash and the latest incident goes against the order of the EC, Mr Ravikumar said.

Later in the day, the BJP filed a formal complaint with the state Chief Electoral Officer demanding suitable action against Mr Krishna Byregowda and others.