A BJP worker has corroborated the months-old charge that government departments in Karnataka have been seeking a “40 per cent” commission from contractors, giving the Congress a chance to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, famed for his anti-corruption vow of “Na khaunga na khane dunga”.

At a news conference in Delhi on Monday, Congress MPs from Karnataka underlined BJP activist Santosh Patil’s allegation that he was asked to pay a 40 per cent commission for a Rs 4-crore panchayat-level contract.

Patil’s accusation corroborates what government contractors in Karnataka have been alleging and agitating against for several months.

The Congress said the Karnataka BJP had a tradition of corruption and cited how B.S. Yediyurappa was forced to resign as chief minister a few years ago after being accused of graft. It demanded immediate dismissal of the state government.

“Santosh Patil is a BJP worker (and) national secretary of the Hindu Vahini, an outfit attached to the Sangh parivar. He was awarded a contract worth Rs 4 crore in Hindala gram panchayat in Belagavi district,” Congress leader L. Hanumantaiah said.

“He completed the work but the payment was not released because associates of rural development minister K.S. Eshwarappa demanded a 40 per cent commission. He was forced to pay a Rs 15-lakh bribe but Eshwarappa’s men insisted on the full 40 per cent cut.”

Patil is a former ABVP member and worked for the BJP in the recent Uttar Pradesh elections, sources said.

“Patil has himself said that he went to Delhi and complained to Union rural development minister Giriraj Singh; the BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Arun Singh; and RSS leader B.L. Santosh but no remedial action was taken,” Hanumantaiah added.

“He also wrote to the Prime Minister but no response came. Patil met Eshwarappa 80 times to persuade him to release the amount. But they were stuck on 40 per cent. This is what the State Contractors Association had complained of earlier.”

Patil has been quoted in local newspapers as saying that the money he has spent was borrowed on credit and now he faces bankruptcy.

Eshwarappa has denied the allegations, calling the charges “false and baseless”. He has said he doesn’t know Patil and never met him, and has threatened to sue him.

Congress MP Nasir Hussain said: “This is a threat from the minister. Why is the Prime Minister who gives sermons on corruption silent? Why are there no CBI, ED raids? We demand an inquiry by a sitting high court judge and dismissal of the state government.”

The Karnataka State Contractors Association had been the first to level the “40 per cent” charge last year.

It wrote to chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and Prime Minister Modi, saying they faced a demand for a 40 per cent commission over all government contracts relating to the ministries of rural development, PWD and water resources, and even the municipalities. The association says it received no response from Modi.

Association president D. Kempanna held a news conference in November to publicise the allegation. He said the demand for the commission affected the quality of work and threatened an agitation from January if corrective measures were not taken. The contractors have held over 20 news conferences in the state but deferred the agitation to April. Kempanna has said that payments of Rs 10,000 crore are still pending with the government.

The Congress communications chief and general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Surjewala, tweeted: “Will the Prime Minister answer: why no action on letter written on July 6 2021 qua 40% commission by BJP ministers/MLAs? Why no response to the letter? Why CM Bommai is mum?”

He asked the people to throw out the “40 per cent” government.

Amarnath Yatra

Srinagar: The Valley is set to host the Amarnath Yatra for the first time after the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019.

A meeting of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board chaired by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha decided to hold the 43-day annual yatra beginning June 30.

It is scheduled to culminate on August 11, officials said. In 2019, the yatra was cut short. It has not been held in the pandemic.

Muzaffar Raina