I didn't file I-T complaint against HD Kumaraswamy: BS Yeddyurappa

Hubballi: Denying he was behind  the complaint lodged with the Income Tax department against  Janata Dal(S) state chief, H D Kumaraswamy and his family for allegedly amassing Rs 20,000 crore in unaccounted wealth, state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday said he would personally apologise to him if he could prove his claim.

"Someone named Venkatesh Gowda has filed a complaint with the Income Tax department against Kumaraswamy.  I have nothing to do with it. I am surprised by the charges made by the JD(S) leader against me. He should stop making such baseless charges to gain publicity,” he told reporters here.

Challenging his JD(S) counterpart to come up with proof to show that the complaint filed was typed in the BJP office, Mr Yeddyurappa claimed  his name was being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy as both the Congress and JD(S) could not bear to see him touring drought-hit districts  and Dalit colonies of the state. 

Standing by his allegation that there was misappropriation of funds in the project to modernise the Malaprabha and Ghataprabha irrigation canals, he charged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had given Minister M B Patil a free hand to make money from it to meet the expenditure of the coming Assembly elections. 

“A nine-member committee led by former water resources minister, Basavaraj Bommai will look into the reasons for the revised estimation of the project cost. And once it submits its report, we will chalk out a strategy to take on the government on the issue,” he added, also promising to order a probe into all projects in the irrigation department if the BJP came to power in the state. 

Mr Yeddyurappa claimed  some officers had approached him for help in getting deputed to the Central services as they were fed up with the harassment in the state for raising their voice against corruption. "Honest officers are being targeted in the state. The untimely death of upright IAS officer Anurag Tiwari is a glaring example,” he alleged. The BJP leader earlier had breakfast at the house of a Dalit family in Karaki Basaveshwar Nagar in the city.