Mysuru: All India Congress Committee spokesperson Brijesh Kalappa has questioned the locus standi of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in accessing information about the investigation process of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in the wake of his prediction that three ministers, close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, would be arrested soon.

Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday, Kalappa said that Yeddyurappa is only an MP among 750 parliamentarians and an ex-accused in a case probed by the CBI.

“In what capacity has he got the information from the CBI? It is suspected that the Centre is misusing the CBI for witch-hunting. The CBI is either fishing or picking and choosing certain persons out of vengeance. While BJP leaders like Amit Shah, Yeddyurappa and Janardhan Reddy, against whom the CBI was investigating, were let off the hook, the CBI is conducting a huge number raids in Karnataka, which is a far smaller economy compared to Maharashtra,” he said.

If Yeddyurappa’s prediction that three ministers in Karnataka will be arrested turns out to be true, the prediction itself demands a CBI probe, because it amounts to a leak of sensitive information. Secondly, in a federal system, the CBI cannot take up cases suo motu. The CBI can take up investigation only under three circumstances — if the state government requests probe into a certain case, if the state gives clearance for a CBI probe for a case or if the High Court issues directions to this effect, Kalappa said. Terming the demonetisation as a disaster, Kalappa said the rules and guidelines have been changed 52 times in 42 days.

“Even after 42 days of demonetisation, people continue to queue up in front of banks and ATMs. The crisis is only deepening. It will turn serious unless the Centre takes some concrete steps to help the people. As predicted by former prime minister Manmohan Singh, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation will reduce by 2% due to demonetisation. It will affect every citizen. It will affect employment. When employment opportunities decrease, crime rate may go up,” he said.

Replying to a question, Kalappa said that the state government had solved the problems of tribal people at Diddalli in Kodagu district.