Following former minister and Ballari mining baron G Janardhan Reddy’s remark that HD Kumaraswamy is a cobra taking revenge after 12 years, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy hit back saying thieves could not be spared. While addressing a press conference at the Zilla Parishad, Kumaraswamy was reluctant on answering anything on the issue, but later said he never resorted to vengeance against rivals.
“I don’t want to stoop to his level and respond to his remarks. I have never resorted to settling scores against my rivals. I didn’t take revenge against him [Mr. Reddy] even when I was the Chief Minister then… If a thief confesses to his crime when he is caught and expresses his readiness to give back the stolen things seeking forgiveness, can he be absolved for all the offences he committed in the past?
“They [Mr. Reddy and others accused in Ambidant money-laundering case] themselves have submitted an affidavit in the court admitting to having cheated [the investors]. They have also expressed their readiness to return ₹18 crore to the investors within 10 days and they cannot be forgiven for that,” Kumaraswamy was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
Queried about the IPS officer’s involvement in Ambidant money-laundering case and the efforts to misguide the probe, the Chief Minister said that none will be spared and that the law will take its own course. “We have given free-hand to investigating team. We won’t interfere. Whoever be the offenders, we won’t spare any,” he stated.
Kumaraswamy also rubbished BJP State unit president BS Yeddyurappa’s allegations on Siddaramaiah government’s failure to deliver on the promise of releasing fund of Rs 500 crore for loan waiver to farmers. The CM said that BJP state president was spreading false information.
“He [Mr. Yeddyurappa] doesn’t know anything about it. Required funds for completing the loan waiver announced by previous Siddaramaiah government had been released. Now, we are working on the new loan waiver announced by my government. We have already released ₹1,300 crore. By next June, we will release another ₹ 9,458 crore to waive farm loans borrowed from cooperative institutions. I have also made a budgetary allocation of ₹6,500 crore this year for waiving farm loans borrowed from nationalised banks. There is no dearth of funds for loan waiver,” he said.
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