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"Congress has only given khatakhat jhoot and loot model," BJP's Shehzad Poonawalla slams Karnataka govt over alleged housing scam
New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shehzad Poonawalla launched a scathing attack on the Congress party on Saturday, saying that while leading the Karnataka government the party has only given the state a 'khatakhat jhoot and loot model,' alleging that the state government is giving off houses meant to be for poor people through bribes.
'The Congress party has only given a khatakhat jhoot & loot model in Karnataka. First, they gave false guarantees, came to power, and now they are looting with both hands -- be it the MUDA Scam, Valmiki Scam, Liquor Scam, Rice Procurement Scam, or land scams of all kinds. Now there's a housing scam, where houses belonging to the poorest of the poor are being sold off for massive bribes,' Poonawalla told ANI in Delhi.
Questioning the state government, the BJP leader asked whether a CBI or independent judicial probe would be carried out as the matter first became public knowledge through a Congress MLA.
'Now the question is -- will any action be taken against the said minister? Will there be a CBI or an independent judicial probe in this matter? Because the allegation hasn't come from the BJP or any activist -- it has been made by a Congress MLA,' he said.
Poonawalla was referencing an alleged leaked audio of Congress MLA BR Patil, in which the party leader is purportedly heard accusing officials of taking bribes for allotting houses.
Yesterday, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah defended the decision by his government to increase reservation quota by 10-15 per cent in various housing schemes, saying that the decision was in line with the central government's guidelines based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's program for the welfare of minorities.
He said the program directs all implementing agencies to earmark '15 per cent of physical and financial targets for minorities wherever possible.'
Reacting to criticism that the state government's decision was 'unconstitutional or appeasement,' the Karnataka CM asked why the guidelines issued by the centre were being implemented under government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
'This guideline is issued by the BJP-led Union Government and has been in force for years. If this was unconstitutional or appeasement, why did the Union Government ask all states to follow it? Why is it being implemented under Central schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?' he asked.
Siddaramaiah further said that the state government's decision doesn't grant 'blanket enhancement' of quota across Karnataka but addresses a specific implementation challenge to ensure optimal use of allocated targets. (ANI)
