Congress and the BJP engage in political conflict in Karnataka following the discovery of $50 million in cash during IT searches

 Congress and the BJP engage in political conflict in Karnataka following the discovery of $50 million in cash during IT searches

Congress and the BJP are at odds in Karnataka over recovering undeclared money.

A political dispute between the Congress and the BJP in Karnataka has just broken out over the recent discovery of 50 crore rupees in unidentified cash during IT searches. 

Nalin Kumar Kateeel, the state president of the BJP, asserted linkages between the in-power Congress and the money found on Sunday, shortly after IT raids retrieval. Soon after making his accusations, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah refuted them and said they were unfounded.

The situation remained heated, therefore the state BJP made the decision to organize protests and rallies at a number of district and taluk offices. Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, the chief minister of Karnataka, were called to step down by the BJP demonstrators.

The BJP foresees large-scale protests in Karnataka on Monday and Tuesday.

The BJP leaders also threatened the Congress-led administration in Karnataka with widespread protests on Monday and Tuesday in all districts and Taluk centers. 

The Congress, according to the BJP's Kateel, is operating an ATM administration in the state to finance the elections in five states that must have polls soon.

Following a meeting with the district and Taluk unit office-bearers, Kateel informed reporters that "the BJP will stage a massive demonstration in all the district and Taluk headquarters tomorrow and the day after tomorrow." He said that the state's administration is robbing people and taking their money.

"When we said that the state had an ATM government, the Congress wanted evidence. Today's proof has been provided to us by head Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the BJP state head said on Sunday.

Kateel accused the Congress of demanding money from builders and contractors in exchange for approving their projects. A few days earlier, 600 crore, according to the Dakshina Kannada constituency MP, was allegedly handed to the contractors. Later, a contractor's home was searched and more than 45 crore was taken.

Kateel defended his claims by asserting, "It is quite evident that this money is connected to the Congress. This money comes exclusively from Congress. I urge that the CM and the DCM step down in order to accept moral accountability.

In addition, Kateel said that the Congress administration used the funds it had been forced to extract to finance the election campaigns in five swing states.

Union Minister for Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi joined the political controversy by asserting that the Congress had set a goal of collecting $1 billion from Karnataka alone.

The Karnataka chief minister defended himself by claiming that the accusations were unfounded and that "contractors do not belong to any political party". He said that neither the government nor anybody else gives them money.

Over 45 locations in Karnataka were raided by Income Tax sleuths on Sunday. The raids started on Thursday and are still happening in other locations. The majority of the places were in Bengaluru. By day's end, the IT department had collected more than 50 crore rupees from individuals, including 42 crore from a contractor and his son.