Will retire from politics if corruption charges against son proved, challenges CM Yediyurappa

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday said he would retire rpt retire from politics if there is any iota of truth in the corruption allegations levelled against his son B Y Vijayendra, who is also BJP state vice president. Yediyurappa's outburst came against leader of opposition Siddaramaiah's allegation made during the no-confidence motion moved by the Congress veteran against the BJP government, that Vijayendra took bribe from a Bangalore development authority contractor.

The charge was based on a sting operation by a Kannada news channel alleging the contractor who bagged a Rs 666 crore project had paid crores of rupees through RTGS to Vijayendra. "If there is an iota of truth that my family is involved, then I will retire rpt retire from politics. If it is wrong then you resign. You should be ashamed of making baseless allegations," Yediyurappa said. He challenged Siddaramaiah to prove the charge and lodge a complaint with the Lokayukta and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Chief Minister said Siddaramaiah was referring to an individual who was not a member of the House. Pandemonium broke out following the allegation by the Congress veteran, with BJP members slamming Siddaramaiah for his accusation. Soon Congress MLAs jumped to Siddaramaiah's defence.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy intervened and said the contractor, whom Siddaramaiah accused of paying bribe, has registered a case against the television channel. Not convinced with the reply, Siddaramaiah said he referred to the individual's name because it was in the public domain put up by the television channel. "Let there be a fair inquiry," Siddaramaiah said. PTI