Siddaramaiah seeks clarification from Minister Thimmapur over excise scam in Karnataka

Bengaluru, Jan 19 (IANS) The excise department scam, in which three officers attached to the department, including an officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner, were arrested, has taken a new twist with the BJP alleging the involvement of Minister R.B. Thimmapur.

The development has proved to be an embarrassment for the government ahead of the special session of the Legislature scheduled to commence on January 22. The Congress government is convening the special session to target the Centre over the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB G RAM G).

Sources said the Chief Minister has taken the matter seriously and has sought an explanation from Minister Thimmapur. The Minister has blamed officials for the controversy and told the Chief Minister that some officers misused his sons’ names to make money. The Chief Minister is likely to seek further clarification from the Minister to counter the opposition during the special session.

At a time when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called upon people to join the struggle until the VB G Ram G law is repealed and MGNREGA is reinstated, the latest development has emerged as a major embarrassment for the government.

BJP leaders have released purported audio clips in which an officer is allegedly heard demanding a cut for the minister. Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to seek the resignation of Minister Thimmapur and stated that if the Chief Minister remained silent, it would be assumed that he too was involved in the scam.

The complainant, C. Lakshminarayana, is likely to file a complaint against Minister Thimmapura with the Karnataka Lokayukta.

Karnataka Lokayukta sleuths arrested the Deputy Commissioner and two other officials attached to the Excise Department while they were allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh for issuing a bar license last Saturday. The accused had allegedly demanded a total bribe of Rs 80 lakh and were caught while receiving the first instalment.

An official statement by the Lokayukta said that the Karnataka Lokayukta Police arrested three officials following a complaint by C. Lakshminarayana. The complainant had applied for a bar licence (CL-7) with the Excise Department. Those arrested were identified as Jagadeesh Naik, Excise Deputy Commissioner; K.M. Thammanna, Superintendent of Excise; and Lakkappa Gani, Excise Constable, all attached to the Office of Bangalore Urban District-8.

The complaint alleged that Deputy Commissioner Jagadeesh Naik and Superintendent Thammanna demanded a bribe of Rs 80 lakh to grant the CL-7 licence and a microbrewery licence.

Lakshminarayana approached the Lokayukta police, who laid a trap and caught them red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh. Excise Constable Lakkappa Gani, who was allegedly involved in delivering the bribe amount, was also arrested.

The Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka, charged on Sunday (Jan 18) that a bribery transaction worth Rs 2,500 crore has taken place in the Excise Department, and this money is being used for elections. Therefore, Minister R.B. Thimmapur should resign. He charged that the government sets revenue collection targets for departments. However, in the Excise Department, licenses are being auctioned off.

He said CM Siddaramaiah is directly responsible for this. Congress leaders are using Mahatma Gandhi to oppose the VB G Ram G scheme and are holding sessions for it. The same government has drowned the entire state in addiction and destroyed Gandhi's ideals, he said.

R.B. Thimmapur is a senior Congress leader hailing from the Dalit community. He is also a close associate of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.