Mangalore: H. D. Kumaraswamy, the former chief minister and JD (S) leader, said that he will lodge a complaint with the income tax department and with Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee regarding the alleged tax evasion by members of the Yeddyurappa family. He was addressing reporters at an interactive session organized by the Journalists Study Centre at the Mangalore Business School on March 24, Thursday.
He told reporters that an educational trust run by the CM’s son has received donations of more than Rs. 27 crore from several companies, including companies that run at a loss and benefit a lot from the government. He also said that these companies, which are running at a loss, paid crores to Prerna Educational and Social Trust run by B. Y. Raghavendra, son of CM B. S. Yeddyurappa. The trust claims that the money is spend on a worthwhile cause and that it has not been misused. He accused the BJP of trying to protect B. S. Yeddyurappa while fighting against corruption at the centre.
Regarding the allegations leveled against him and his family, Kumaraswamy said that the CM has accused H. D. Deve Gowda, the former prime minister, and his family of receiving donations of Rs. 150 crore from mining companies for a trust belonging to the family. He challenged the CM to take stern action against them if the allegations are true.
Challenging CM Yeddyurappa to provide evidence, Kumaraswamy expressed his willingness to give up his political career if the Deve Gowda family was proved to be guilty of corruption. He also rubbished the BJP’s accusation that he had approved the Bhadra Irrigation project during his term as CM.
Continuing to flay the CM, Kumaraswamy said that the CM has denotified a total of 221.34 acres of land from Oct 2008 to October 2010 and stands guilty of misusing his position to make his family members richer by at least Rs. 500 crore.
He concluded by urging the BJP leaders to force Yeddyurappa to resign if they want to save the reputation of the party.