From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Nov 17: JD(S) State President and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who was derided by his political opponents for alleged ‘power theft’ for taking illegal power from the street poles near his JP Nagar residence in Bengaluru for the Deepavali lighting decorations, has paid the BESCOM bill charges and penalty by a demand draft.

The JD(S) leader has paid a total amount of Rs 68.526 by DD drawn on the Karnataka Cooperative Apex Bank.

Kumaraswamy had admitted that the connection was taken from the street BESCOM pole near his residence by a private contractor, who was entrusted with the Deepavali lighting decorations, instead of drawing the power from the meter in his own residence.

“I had gone to my farmhouse in Bidadi in the city outskirts after entrusting the work. When I returned in the night, I noticed the lapse and immediately got it removed. The power connection was subsequently drawn from the meter in the residence,’’ the JDS leader had said and offered to pay the relevant charges and penalty.

The Congress party had put out the video recording of the connection drawn in its social media account and accused the former chief minister of ‘’power theft.’’

Kumaraswamy, while offering to pay the charges and penalty, had also criticized the Congress party for abusing him and pointed out that ‘he had not illegally fenced the properties belonging to others or had looted the public funds’.

“I confess what the private contractor had done was a lapse and I am ready to pay the necessary charges and penalty,’’ he said.

A police complaint has already been lodged against Kumaraswamy on the alleged power theft and an FIR has also been registered.

Kumaraswamy has been constantly attacking both Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for indulging in commission for transfers and postings. His latest attack against the Chief Minister is that he has been demanding money for transfers and postings by releasing audio-video recordings of conversation allegedly between Siddaramaiah and his son Dr Yatindra Siddaramaiah, the former MLA of Varuna, which is the constituency presently represented by the Chief Minister.