HASSAN: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said his government will launch probes into alleged scams during the tenure of the previous BJP government, including in setting up of four new medical colleges, in the Irrigation Department and the bitcoin issue.
The CM, who arrived here to inaugurated the Kempegowda Jayanti celebrations, said, “It is being said that there were irregularities in the setting up of four new medical colleges and we will investigate the charges of 40 per cent commission. During the pandemic, there were irregularities in the purchase of medical equipment. There were also irregularities in the Irrigation Department and in the bitcoin issue and all these will be probed”.
Further, the CM said the investigation into the PSI recruitment scam will be hastened and those guilty will be punished. “We will also investigate the Chamarajanagar oxygen deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic. Then Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar had claimed that there were only two deaths, but the numbers were higher”, he said.
Regarding the Congress guarantees, Siddaramaiah said the Shakti free bus travel scheme has already been introduced and women are travelling for free. “We will roll out the Gruha Jyothi scheme from July 1 and the Gruha Lakshmi scheme from August 15. We have already called for applications”, he noted.
On the Anna Bhagya scheme, the CM said, “During our previous government, we were providing 7 kg of rice and during this election, we had announced to give 10 kg of rice. For this, we need about 1.29 lakh tons of rice, but we are not getting that quantity. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) reneged on its promise to supply rice and this is nothing but a conspiracy of the central government. We have now sought quotations from NAFED, NEEC and Kendra Bhandara and as soon as we get rice, we will roll out the Anna Bhagya scheme too”, he said.
This is for the first time that the 514th Kempegowda Jayanti is being organised across the state and the first event was held in Hassan on Tuesday. Apart from CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, ministers Shivaraj S Tangadagi, K N Rajanna, Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer Nirmalanandanatha Swami and district MLAs participated in the event.
The CM also spoke on the contributions of Kempegowda in building Bengaluru and his administration. Folk artists also performed on the occasion.