Karnataka: When HDK-DKS spat turned personal

Bengaluru: Vokkaliga titans H.D. Kumaraswamy and D.K. Shivakumar clashed in the state Assembly on Monday during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the Siddaramaiah government with the innuendos turning personal at times.

Mr Kumaraswamy termed the new Solar Policy crafted by Mr Shivakumar as a ‘high level cyber crime’ while Mr Shivakumar defended himself displaying a certificate issued by the Union government, terming the solar policy of Karnataka a role model for the country.

According to Mr Kumaraswamy, the entire online tender process for solar power was rigged. On October 9, 295 applications were cleared in the tender process-which lasted for just 7.25 minutes - to produce 600 MW power. The applicant needed to enter 15 columns in the form. Of the 295 successful bidders, 282 applicants managed to complete the process in less than a minute, while two applications were completed in two minutes, one applicant took two and a half minute and only one applicant took over 4.45 mins, he pointed out!

Giving details of the IP addresses, from where these applications were received, Mr Kumaraswamy said 41 applications were filed from ATR company in Bengaluru, 15 applications from a company called PCM in Kolkata, 12 from AAF company in Mumbai and 25 applications from the Airtel telecom company premises. Even Bagmane Techpark was used to file six applications, he said.

Interestingly, though the policy allowed some companies to enter into agreement with farmers, 75 people purchased over 900 acres of land, just a week before the tender process. This particular group got a tender to produce 180 MW power. This was nothing but rigging, he said.

Mr Shivakumar shot back saying the investment needed to produce one MW power was over Rs 7 crore and farmers could not afford that kind of investment. “We allowed them to enter into an agreement with private parties. The bidder could not participate unless the land pahani was in his name. At the time of tender, there were 21,000 logins, of which, 295 were successful,” he added.

As the debate progressed, seer of Adichunchanagari Math late Sri Balagangadharanatha Swamiji was also dragged in with Mr Shivakumar accusing Mr Kumaraswamy and his family of hoisting false cases against the seer. Mr Kumaraswamy hit back saying the first complaint against Mr Shivakumar was filed way back in 2002, when MML had filed a complaint that a block of granite belonging to the company was stolen.

Former Speaker Mr Ramesh Kumar intervened and said the no-confidence motion had changed track and had become ‘Gowdra gadla’ (clash of Vokkaligas). This left even the Chief Minister smiling.