BENGALURU: With by-election looming, a leaked report from the Judicial Commission of Inquiry has surfaced recommending prosecution of former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and B Sriramulu, a former minister from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. The committee tasked with probing Covid-19 procurement during the BJP-led government has called for Prevention of Corruption Actbased on alleged financial mismanagement in the purchase of medical equipment and personal protective equipment kit.
The 11-volume partial report, submitted on August 31, reviews government expenditure of approximately Rs 7,224 crore during the pandemic. Following the acceptance, the state cabinet constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and a sub-committee to assess further steps.
The timing of the report’s leak has raised eyebrows, especially as the BJP has been pressuring Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign over allegations related to Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allocation .
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao acknowledged the committee’s findings and said a cabinet subcommittee was reviewing the report’s recommendations. “The committee recommended prosecution against Yediyurappa and Sreeramul and our cabinet sub-committee is currently reviewing the recommendation. This is not a personal matter; we raised the charges during the opposition, conducted our own investigation and submitted the findings to the government. After assuming office , we appointed a committee headed by a retired judge to investigate. This is the first report and a final report will follow.
The report highlighted the financial losses caused by procuring PPE from Hong Kong and claimed that unnecessary expenditure amounted to Rs 140 million. “Clearly there were irregularities in the procurement of personal protective equipment.
Although PPEs are available domestically, they are procured from Hong Kong, resulting in an additional cost of Rs 140 million to the government.
Responding to the allegations, Yediyurappa said the claims were politically motivated. “We did not commit fraud; everything was done within the framework of the law. This is an old problem that has been exploited for political motives. They want to benefit from it, but it will not benefit them.
Sriramulu also dismissed the accusations as “political vendetta” and confirmed that the actions he took during his tenure were legally justified.
Besides recommending prosecution, the report also recommended recovery of Rs 500 crore of misused funds and asked for detailed reports from four districts within the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and 31 districts across the state. The committee’s findings are based on a review of more than 55,000 documents.
