From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Jul 22: Health and Family Welfare minister Dr K Sudhakar, has demanded a probe into the public admission by former Congress Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar that Congress leaders should by the party’s national president Sonia Gandhi and former president Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case having ‘made enough in the name of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to last 3 to 4 generations’.
Speaking to media persons in Bengaluru on Friday, Dr Sudhakar, who quit Congress to join BJP along with 15 other legislators that helped BJP to come to power with B S Yediyurappa to become Chief Minister, said Ramesh Kumar’s statement made during the Congress protest in the presence of all party leaders at Freedom Park on Thursday against Enforcement Directorate interrogating Sonia Gandhi must be 'viewed seriously and thoroughly investigated'.
The Minister said the former Speaker has publicly admitted that Congress leaders have indulged in corruption and scams and have made enough money.
“Ramesh Kumar is a senior leader and we know how he acted as the Assembly Speaker. He has done what no other Speaker did. He has no moral responsibility to question ED’s investigation against the Gandhi family,’’ Dr Sudhakar said referring to the former Speaker’s actions of disqualifying the 16 dissident Congress and JD(S) legislators, who resigned to bring down the HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress coalition government and later joined the BJP.
Dr Sudhakar demands that ED should not investigate Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. “His statement is an admission that Congress leaders have amassed wealth and must be taken very seriously,’’ the minister said and urged the investigating agencies to register a complaint based on Ramesh Kumar’s statement and probe against all Congress leaders, including the former Speaker.
“Let all the guilty persons be brought to book and punished,’’ he said.
The Health Minister said the same agency which probed against former Congress Home Minister KJ George in the suicide case of police DySP Ganapathi and gave a ‘B report’, had probed former Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa and furnished the ‘B report’. The Congress leaders, who are questioning the B report against Eshwarappa must also question the similar report against George, he said.
Dr Sudhakar said both the Congress and JD(S) have lost the confidence of the dominant Vokkaliga community, which will support BJP in the coming assembly polls. “BJP is not a caste based party and believes in the welfare of all sections of people. BJP promises development of all communities including Vokkaligas, Lingayats, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as well as Backward Classes.
The minister said the government has found that the free rice distributed by the Centre following the Covid pandemic to the poor was being sold in the black market. Action will be taken against all those involved in the scam, he warned.