D’Cunha report on COVID ‘scam’ adds more heat to bypoll campaign

Political slugfest erupts over corruption allegations in procurement of PPE kits during pandemic, sparking heated debates and accusations.

A day after The Hindureported on the John Michael D’Cunha commission report, which recommended criminal prosecution of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and former Health Minister B. Sriramulu over alleged irregularities in the procurement of 3 lakh PPE kits from China in April 2020, at the height of the pandemic, a political slugfest broke out between the ruling and Opposition party leaders.

While Mr. Yediyurappa and Mr. Sriramulu termed the commission’s report “politically motivated”, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he would take a call on the issue after considering the opinion of the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar looking into the commission report.

It led to heated debates, particularly in the campaign rallies in byelection-bound Sandur in Ballari district, from where Mr. Sriramulu hails, and where Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Yediyurappa were campaigning on Saturday.

Mr. Yediyurappa said, “There was no scam during my tenure as Chief Minister. Everything was done well within the legal framework. We will not be scared by such tactics and we are ready to face any inquiry. The report is politically motivated.” He said it only indicated that the Congress was “scared of defeat” in the byelections. Mr. Sriramulu said he worked hard for the people during tough times and the allegations were unfounded. JD(S) State president and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy also said the commission’s recommendation was “politically motivated”.

Responding to this later in the day, the Chief Minister said, “These allegations are not made by us, but by a retired High Court judge who probed these allegations. Does Mr. Yediyurappa have any respect for the judiciary and the laws of the land?”

Multiple Congress Ministers joined in the attack. Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge said the report only confirmed what many suspected, that “the BJP government in Karnataka profited during COVID while people lost their lives for the government’s apathy”. In a social media post, he also questioned why local suppliers were overlooked and kits imported from China. He questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi as to how a Chief Minister of a State got approvals for imports without the Central government’s consent.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao said the commission had recommended recovery of crores of money paid to companies for procuring equipment and medicines at higher prices than those prevailing in the market. He said a separate team of officials would be formed to look into these recommendations after the byelections.