Lagatar24 Desk
Bangalore, Oct.7: Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa has landed in soup on Thursday morning. Income Tax officials showed up at the houses and workplaces of numerous contractors connected to him, to investigate the allegedly undisclosed wealth of Umesh, who was his personal assistant (PA) while in office.
The operation is being carried out at ten places, according to IT officials, including Umesh’s apartment in the city.
Umesh, who used to work as a bus operator, got into politics after meeting Shimoga BJP leader Ayanur Manjunath and became his personal assistant. Later, he became the assistant to BY Raghavendra, Yediyurappa’s son and Shimoga MP. Umesh worked as a PA in the chief minister’s office during Yediyurappa’s recent term. He is also said to be close to BY Vijayendra, Yediyurappa’s second son.
According to some sources, Umesh managed irrigation contracts and was linked to key contractors in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In exchange for a cut, he allegedly ‘arranged’ key contracts worth hundreds of crores.
The raids are centred on his alleged participation in ‘fixing’ contracts in the Cauvery Irrigation Corporation and Krishna Irrigation Corporation, two state-owned major corporations in charge of irrigation projects. At least ten Hyderabad-based contractors with whom Umesh had business ties have been identified and are under the radar of the IT Department.
Rumours are circulating in Karnataka’s political circles that the raids are being carried out to send a message to Yediyurappa’s family, who have been wanting a larger position in the party and administration since the leader’s “forced” departure in the last week of July. Officials of Income Tax department on the other hand, denied the rumours, calling it a “routine raid.”
The BJP high command had declined to make Vijayendra Yediyurappa, Yediyurappa’s younger son, a minister in Basavaraj Bommai’s government. After his fans objected over his exclusion on social media, his name was added to the list of assembly bypoll in-charges. On October 30, bypolls will be held in two Karnataka Assembly seats: Hangal and Sindgi.
The I-T raids on Yediyurappa’s loyalist have elicited no response from Yediyurappa’s family yet. The opposition Congress has requested that all irrigation contracts given during Yediyurappa’s tenure be thoroughly investigated.
