Yeddyurappa makes big corruption claim against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah; Congress says accusation will boomerang

BS Yeddyurappa has accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state Energy Minister D K Shivakumar of corruption. He has accused the Karnataka government of corruption in the course of payment of penalty of Rs 447 crore to the central government for reallotment of a coal block allotted to a public-private firm, reported the Indian Express. The leader of the opposition in Karnataka and former CM Yeddyurappa alleged that the state government paid a penalty of Rs 447 crore to the Centre without any necessity. He added by saying that Siddaramiah and Shivakumar received kickbacks in the bargain. “We charge them with receiving kickbacks for this payment,” Yeddyurappa was quoted as saying.

While trashing the allegations, Shivakumar and state Congress working president Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the penalty of Rs 447 crore was paid by the state in protest after the Centre approached the Supreme Court with a contempt plea against the state for non-payment of the penalty. He added that the fine was paid to ensure reallocation of the Baranj coal block in Maharashtra for coal supply to power generation units in Karnataka. On his party, Shivakumar was quoted as saying, “Yeddyurappa is misleading the public. This will boomerang. We are ready for any kind of probe and debate on the issue. The decision to pay the penalty was taken in the interest of the state and not for any personal gain.”

As per the report, the alleged corruption occurred in the course of a joint venture between the state-run Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) and Kolkata’s Eastern Mineral and Trading Agency (EMTA). Where CM Siddaramaiah is the chairman and energy minister Shivakumar is the managing directors of KPCL.

The joint venture called Karnataka EMTA Coal Mines Ltd — where KPCL held 24 per cent stake — came into existence in 2002 and was allocated six coal mines in 2003 by the UPA government. After the coal scam the Supreme Court in 2012 cancelled the coal mining licences of KECML and imposed penalties on the firm.

The BJP has accused KPCL of paying the entire penalty imposed on KECML by March 16, 2017 despite holding only a 24 per cent stake in KECML. The Congress in Karnataka have however refuted the allegations as baseless.