"May be element of truth in Yatnal's accusation...," Karnataka Minister MB Patil on Rs 40,000 cr corruption allegation against previous Yediyurappa govt

Dec 29, 2023

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 29 : Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil on Friday took a dig at BJP by saying that there seems to be an element of truth in the allegations that Basana Gowda Patil Yatnal has been making against his party considering that BJP has not been daring to take any action against him.
Alleging 40,000 crores of rupees were embezzled under the previous Yediyurappa-led BJP government in the state during the first wave of corona, BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal had warned that he would expose the "irregularities," if expelled from the party.
Responding to reporters' query regarding BJP's accusation of Yatnal as a Congress agent, he slammed, "BJP has become so weak internally that it has been unable to take any action against Yatnal even though he has been hurling such accusations for five years."
BJP is now resorting to portraying Yatnal as a Congress agent just to satisfy itself and Congress does not share any sort of connection with Yatnal. Probably, they are back stepping from taking any disciplinary against him as he may have enough information about irregularities that happened during their administration and it could not decide on taking action in the party's core committee meeting held yesterday, he lambasted.
Congress will conduct an enquiry about procurement and financial transactions which took place during the COVID-19 pandemic when the BJP was in power and subsequently place the facts before the people. Accordingly, action will be taken against those who will be found guilty, Patil clarified.
Mentioning about Kannada signboards row he remarked that there was no compromise in adhering to rules about Kannada usage. However, no one should take the law into their own hands, he added.
First, let there be a deadline regarding Kannada usage. Later, the government will take required action against those who do not adhere to it, he remarked.
Patil who is also the Industries Minister pointed out that there was tough competition not only among states in India but also globally to attract investments and any state is not inevitable for industrialists. Kannada activists should consider that such incidents go viral leading to think twice before deciding on investing here, he added.
He also stated that his department would issue an advisory soon regarding Kannada usage.
When asked about the possibility of nominating three deputy chief ministers in the government, he said that opinions about such matters would be shared with their leaders within closed doors and they need not be discussed in public.