BJP has no moral right to level graft charges: Siddaramaiah

Dismissing the BJP's "chargesheet" against his government as a "bundle of lies", Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said the saffron party had "no moral right" to level allegations against him as its leaders themselves were facing graft charges.
"Who are making these allegations? Those people who are facing charges filed by police. They cannot mislead the people. They do not have the moral right to level these allegations. The booklet is a bundle of lies," he said.
Speaking to reporters on the eve of the completion of four years in office, the Congress leader said there were charges against senior BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa and others of the saffron party, claiming that the allegations against him were "politically motivated".

"The booklet released by the BJP has come up with mere allegations. A chargesheet contains allegations supported by evidence. They (BJP) have not produced any evidence. Hence, the allegations are baseless and false," he added.
Siddaramaiah claimed that BJP leaders in the state had become "desperate" after the party lost the recent Nanjangud and Gundlupet Assembly by-elections, adding that the by-poll results were "proof enough" that even the people had "rejected" the allegations levelled against him.
"Can someone tell me what are the allegations against me? Have I been chargesheeted? Have I been summoned by any court? Have I gone to jail like some BJP leaders?" he asked.

Karnataka BJP had yesterday released a "chargesheet" against the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state, highlighting the "rampant corruption" and its "failure" to tackle the agricultural crisis.

On diary entries of alleged payoffs to Congress leaders, Siddaramaiah said the BJP did not have any right to talk about the issue.
"The charges should be spelt out by the CBI. Who are these people (BJP leaders) to level such allegations?" he asked.
A political slugfest had erupted in Karnataka recently over the entries in a diary, which purportedly belonged to Siddaramaiah's Parliamentary Secretary K Govindaraju, indicating alleged payments by state ministers to certain central leaders of the Congress.

Excerpts from the diary showed a few acronyms similar to the names of certain Congressleaders and amounts in crores of rupees against them.
The contents of the diary were made public by the media.
The Income Tax department had, in March 2016, searched the residence of Govindaraju, a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, and seized several documents.
To a query, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that the Congress will retain Karnataka in the next Assembly elections under hisleadership and added that the chief ministerial candidate of the party will be decided by the high-command.
"I am sure the Congress will be re-elected in Karnataka. The party will fight the next election under my leadership and the high-command will decide on the chief minister," he said.

To another query, Siddaramaiah said, "There is a norm in ourparty that the chief ministerial candidate is first selected by the Congress Legislature Party and then, it is ratified by the high-command. So, as of now, I cannot say that I will be the chief minister. It is a decision of the high- command."
On allegations of Congress leaders themselves flouting the rules framed by him, the chief minister said working diligently in public interest was more important than ruing over others' statements.
"What is important is not what others are saying about you, but what work you have been rendering. People take that into account and hence, it is proof enough that the people voted for the party in the last by-elections. It will be proved in the comingelections too," he added.

Siddaramaiah claimed that his government had already honoured 155 of the 165 promises the party had made before the last Assembly election in the state.