BENGALURU: Adding to the woes of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, yet another private complaint has been lodged against him and others in the Special Court for MLAs/MPs in Bengaluru, alleging a fraud of over Rs 68 crore committed against the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
Senior BJP leader and RTI activist N.R. Ramesh, on Friday, made the complaint seeking the court to grant permission for filing a criminal case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others. The petitioner has also made Minister of Energy K.J. George, then Principal Secretary Lakshminarayan, Major P. Manivannan, then Principal Secretary and Manjunath Prasad, then Commissioner of BBMP and others as parties in the case.
Ramesh has submitted the memorandum of complaint under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The complainant stated on Friday that, “During the previous term of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from 2013-2018, the complaint was lodged with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Lokayukta agencies against the Siddaramaiah government. The petition is regarding the state government misusing 493 bus shelters owned by the BBMP for promoting the achievements of Siddaramaiah government without paying the fee of Rs 68.14 crore to BBMP.”
“Complaints were filed with the ACB and the Lokayukta, backed by records, alleging that from 2015 to 2017, the Siddaramaiah government used 493 bus shelters of BBMP for promotional activities without paying a single penny as advertisement fees, ” Ramesh states.
BBMP, which has limited revenue sources such as property tax, map approval fees, trade license fees, road digging fees, and advertisement fees, spends a minimum of Rs 10, 000 crore annually for the salaries of its officials/employees and for the maintenance of parks, street lights, and damaged roads, he maintained.
In such a scenario, after complaints were filed with the ACB and Lokayukta, the then Special Commissioner (Finance) of BBMP, on July 5, 2017, issued a ‘Demand Notice’ to the then Siddaramaiah-led state government to pay a total amount of Rs 12.98 crore to BBMP. However, the Siddaramaiah government ignored the Demand Notice, Ramesh alleged.
After Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister for the second time, under his influence and pressure, the Lokayukta police, without any notification, closed the complaint related to "the scam of Rs 68.14 crore in advertisement fees by the Siddaramaiah government to BBMP" on July 26, 2024, he alleged.
Despite providing complete records related to this massive scam, the Lokayukta police, allegedly under pressure from CM Siddaramaiah and showing bias, closed the case. Protesting this move, a "Private Complaint" has been filed in the "Special Court for People's Representatives, " Ramesh stated in his petition.
A Private Complaint Register (PCR) has been filed with the court seeking an "order for investigation" against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others, he stated.
CM Siddaramaiah is facing allegations in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case and has approached the High Court for relief against Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s order to prosecute him. The court has reserved the matter for order.