COVID-19 scam? Karnataka Congress alleges loss of Rs 2K crore in procuring equipment

Bengaluru: Opposition Congress has accused the state government of committing large scale misappropriation of over Rs 2,000 crore in purchasing ventilators, PPE kit and other equipment to manage COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

The Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC President DK Shivakumar held a joint press conference on Thursday alleging that he State government had indulged in misappropriation of funds in procuring medical equipment for COVID -19 and demanded judicial probe by a sitting judge of the High Court.

Hours after Congress leaders' allegations, five Cabinet ministers held a joint press conference and furnished statistics regarding purchase of ventilators, masks, PPE kit and other items. They rubbished the allegations made by the Opposition but also said that they were ready for a probe into the matter

“The state government has spent more than Rs 4000 crore for handling COVID-19 pandemic, in which it has misappropriated over Rs 2000 crore in procuring medical equipment. By quoting higher price, ventilators, PPE kits and masks have been procured”, Siddaramaiah said.

"The government has came to an agreement with companies and issued procurement orders. It has been found that few departments have procured the medical equipment for a higher price.The government has received kick-backs in procuring the medical equipment," Siddaramaiah added.

Siddaramaiah demanded a white paper on the matter and added that the party has also started a social media campaign asking the government to furnish its accounts.

“I have written more than 20 letters to the state government seeking information about purchase of medical equipment, but there is no response from the government,” Siddaramaiah remarked.

Ministers countered Congress allegation

Deputy Chief Minister Dr C Ashwathnarayana, Revenue Minister R Ashok, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar and Health and Family Welfare Minister B Sriramulu held a joint press conference and countered Congress' allegation.

"Allegations made by the Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC President D.K.Shivakumar are baseless. The state government has spent Rs 750 crore for COVID -19 pandemic management and not Rs 4000 crore," the ministers stated.

Ashok criticised Siddaramaiah, stating that he had no moral right to question the state government. Chief Minister BSYediyurappa, despite of his advanced age, is doing tremendous job to contain spreading of Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Releasing the statistics on government’s COVID-19 management, Ashwathnarayana said, "The government has utilised on Rs 750 crore to purchase medical equipment. Government has procured 1.5 lakh PPE kits for Rs 330 each kits."

Ashwathnarayana said that the government had purchased the N-95 masks for Rs 45, adding that there was no misappropriation of funds in procuring ventilators. Instead, he alleged that the Congress government under Siddaramaiah had procured ventilators in 2019 for a higher price.