Renukacharya Demands Criminal Case, Arrests of Deshpande & Co in Flood Scam
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, June 9: Gloating over the acute embarrassment to the KPCC President R V Deshpande and other state Congress leaders over the alleged misuse of funds collected by the party for the victims of the last year’s devastating floods in north Karnataka, Excise Minister M P Renukacharya sought rub salt in the wounds by demanding registering a criminal case and arrest of the Congress leaders.
Addressing a news conference, the minister, who himself was involved in a criminal case against him by nurse Jayalakshmi against criminal intimidation and other charges, has urged the chief minister B S Yeddyurappa to file criminal cases against Deshpande and other office-bearers of KPCC and send them to jail for alleged misappropriation of money and materials collected from donors and the public for providing relief to the flood affected people of north Karnataka.
Not content with his demand publicly made to the chief minister, Renukacharya also demanded that the AICC president Sonia Gandhi should ``sack all KPCC office-bearers for their alleged role in the misuse of the relief money.’’
It may be recalled that KPCC working president D K Shivakumar, who is being accused of instigating the leak to media by partymen without openly being named, has admitted lapses in the
utilisation of funds.
Meanwhile, former Union Minister and AICC Secretary Oscar Fernandes on Tuesday said the party would conduct an inquiry into all allegations and submit the report to the party high command.
But Deshpande has denied all charges and claimed that there was no misappropriation of funds as alleged by the party’s detractors. He had also claimed that his political opponents within the party, who were privy to the bank details, were behind the political conspiracy to tarnish his image.
Reunkacharya said the KPCC president, who has been seeking resignations of tainted ministers in the Yeddyurappa Government, has no moral right to continue as president of the KPCC.
Instead of giving collected money to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, the Congress had used money for buying T-shirts and air ticket of its one of the leader. The money was also used for KPCC office tiles works and for payment to printers and advertisers, the Minister said.
"The people would doubt the commitment of the Congress in the future and would teach a fitting lesson to the party in the coming zilla panchayat and taluk panchayat elections,” he said.
Instead of handing over money to the CM’s relief fund, he wanted to know why it has deposited it in a bank. ``Can people trust the Congress with public money collected towards the relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims?,” he asked.
The Congress should handover the money, including the interest earned on the fixed deposits to the CM’s Relief Fund immediately, he said.
Renukacharya said the Congress leaders, who have become unemployed, have been levelling baseless charges against the Government to mislead the people. The BJP Government has shown its commitment to the rehabilitation of the flood affected people by building houses, he said.
He, however, refused to answer questions on Health Minister B Sriramulu’s public apology for the Government’s failure to construct houses for the flood victims as promised and clarified that construction work had not progressed as fast as expected. ``We will not shirk our responsibilities,” he added.