Congress MLA Ramalinga Reddy on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka after the high court granted interim anticipatory bail to Channagiri MLA Madal Virupakshappa – who is the main accused in the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents (KSDL) contract scam. Alleging that the BJP government is “corrupt”, Reddy said that the saffron party is “supporting” Virupakshappa.
“Without the government’s support, how can someone get bail? MLA will not be suspended because it’s BJP culture. The entire government is corrupt,” Reddy told news agency ANI.
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Virupakshappa’s son Prashant Madal – who is the chief accounts officer of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board – was arrested by the Lokayukta police on March 2 after he was caught taking a bribe of ₹40 lakh on behalf of his father. The Channagiri MLA was absconding ever since, until Tuesday, when the Karnataka HC granted him bail.
After his son’s arrest, Virupakshappa also resigned as the chairman of KSDL, however, he said that the arrest was “purely a conspiracy”. “I do not have any connection with the money that Lokayukta seized. But taking moral responsibility for whatever happened, I submit my resignation as a chairman of KSDL,” he wrote in his resignation letter to chief minister Basavraj Bommai.
Meanwhile, BJP workers celebrated the bail order and welcomed Virupakshappa on Tuesday.
