Lokayukta officials caught Virupakshappa’s son Prashant Madal red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh and later, raided the houses of the MLA and his son and unearthed over Rs 8 crore in unaccounted cash. Prashanth worked as the Chief Financial Officer of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board.
Shreyas Kashyap of Chemical Corporation, which supplies raw materials to state-owned soap factory Karnataka Soap and Detergent Limited (KSDL) headed by Virupakshappa, lodged a police complaint alleging that Prashant had demanded a bribe.
Kashyap told the police that Prashant demanded Rs 81 lakh for clearing a tender worth Rs 4.8 crore and alleged that the money was sought on behalf of the MLA. Lokayukta police caught Prashant taking bribe and arrested him. Virupakshappa has been absconding since his resignation from KSDL on March 3.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai used the incident to target the opposition, stating that his government would punish those found guilty, regardless of their party affiliation. After Virupakshappa went incommunicado, he filed an injunction against media outlets asking them to stop publishing any articles or news.
The BJP went to town on how it would fight the upcoming assembly elections on the basis of development, vision and providing clean governance. Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a public rally in Bellary asked people to “trust the BJP and give one more chance to Modi and Yediyurappa”. Just as this was gathering momentum, the Lokayukta raid on the BJP MLA certainly took the wind out of the party temporarily.
BJP leaders who expressed their uneasiness about the incident to top brass said a chain of events – from Virupakshappa going missing for five days to being welcomed as a hero in his constituency Channagiri after he went for anticipatory bail – only made the situation worse and should have been handled more tactfully.
Soon after Prashant’s arrest, his houses were raided, which revealed unaccounted cash. The MLA in his defense claimed that Channagiri was a land where betel nut was grown and the money received was from the sale of the produce.
He said, ‘Here it is common to get Rs 4 to 5 crore in a common man’s house. In his defence, the MLA said, Rs 6 crore is not a big deal for us and I will submit all the relevant documents to the Lokayukta. He also said that the money found in his house was not made of corruption, but he was silent about the bribery allegations against Prashant.
In 2008, contesting from Channagiri, Virupakshappa declared personal ownership of only 12 acres of land worth Rs 50 lakh. In 2013, he declared 12 acres of immovable property worth Rs 80 lakh and net worth of Rs 1.79 crore. In the 2018 election affidavit, the MLA declared that he owned around 20 acres of land worth Rs 1.35 crore and his total assets in the last assembly election stood at Rs 5.73 crore.
The MLA’s stand on the Lokayukta notice against him is that it is based only on the fact that he was the President of KSDL. “We had intensified our attacks against the Congress on the issue of corruption and how they had dissolved the Lokayukta, and set up the Anti-Corruption Bureau to track corruption cases and bury their cases with the Lokayukta. But this incident has blunted that sting.
The Lokayukta police have said that they will investigate the sources of income of the father-son duo and verify them with their asset declaration during the elections. The MLA has acquired around 125 acres of land in his home district Davangere and the source of that income but the land is also being scrutinised.
In a statement, the Lokayukta police said, “The Rs 6.10 crore seized includes a case of disproportionate assets. Will have to tell about the purchase of 125 acres of land and verify the income tax return.
It was not only Virupakshappa who put the BJP in the dock for days; The manner in which he took steps for speedy hearing of his anticipatory bail case also left the government embarrassed. Soon after, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail on the condition that the MLA would have to surrender within 48 hours.
In a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, the Bengaluru Advocates’ Association expressed disappointment over the speedy posting of Virupakshappa’s case and the delivery of the judgement. “It usually takes several days for the matter to be posted for hearing. But for one MLA it has come in a day… He has taken orders in the VIP lane. This cannot happen in the courts. Common man and VIP are equal,” said Vivek Subba Reddy, president of the association.
When Virupakshappa reappeared after being granted bail, his supporters in Channagiri celebrated with great fanfare. The leader was taken out in an open jeep in a procession to a temple in Davanagere and garlands were thrown at him and milk was poured over his picture.
Due to this, once again the BJP has got stuck in its nose. After knocking the doors of the court on Thursday, the MLA finally appeared before the Lokayukta for questioning. Virupakshappa is a close aide of former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa and the party is in no mood to upset the apple cart with Yediyurappa.
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