Mysuru, Aug 10 (IANS): Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi on Saturday attacked the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah, saying that ‘thief won’t be spared even if he returns the stolen item’.

“Siddaramaiah is claiming that he will return the allotted 14 sites to his family. The thief won’t be spared even if he returns the stolen item. He should be prosecuted and punished as per the law,” the Union Minister said while addressing a gathering at the concluding ceremony of ‘Mysuru Chalo’ padayatra.

He said that Siddaramaiah has claimed that he has no black mark in his political career but he should know that his entire career is mired with black spots.

“You titled your event as ‘Janandolan’ but it is ‘Dhanandolan’ (money-related movement),” the Union Minister said.

He said that Congress leaders have minted money through corruption and handed it over to the Congress high command, adding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar put up a united front together but there is an internal fight between them.

He also criticised Siddaramaiah’s claims for being targeted as he is a backward class leader. “He diverted funds reserved for SC and ST. He is a corrupt Chief Minister, who admitted that in the Tribal Welfare Board case, it is not Rs 187 crore but Rs 89 crore,” he said.

He said that corruption is in the DNA of the Congress and it is in their DNA to insult SC, ST, and OBCs.

“How did you deal with Charan Singh? The party has not made any candidate from the OBC category as their PM. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hailing from the backward class, is ruling the country for the 11th consecutive year,” the Union Minister said.