‘BSY Paid Rs 1,500 Cr to BJP Leaders,’ Cong Alleges, Citing Report

The Congress accused BS Yeddyurappa of paying Rs 1,800 crore to several national BJP leaders.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala (left); BJP senior leader BS Yeddyurappa.

(Photo: Altered byThe Quint)

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Friday, 22 March, addressed a press conference accusing senior BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa of paying over Rs 1,500 crore to the party's national leaders during his tenure as Karnataka chief minister.

Surjewala, citing The Caravan report, stated that Yeddyurappa paid a total of Rs 1,800 crore including payouts to the party’s central committee, judges and advocates.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi also tweeted attacking the BJP on the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ pitch.

The Congress demanded that ‘Chowkidar’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi and every individual who has been named in the report should respond to the allegations and be called for an investigation into the diary.

Surjewala also demanded that the Lokpal must look into the matter.

The report stated that Yeddyurappa recorded these alleged payouts in a Karnataka state Assembly legislator’s 2009 diary, in Kannada. Surjewala, quoting the report, added that the former CM’s signature was found on every page.

“Is it true or false? The diary with BS Yeddyurappa’s sign on it was with the Income Tax Department since 2017. If that is the case, why did Modi and the BJP not get it investigated?”

Randeep Surjewala, Congress Spokesperson

The report states that Yeddyurappa paid top BJP politicians, including Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Rajnath Singh and veteran leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Calling Yeddyurappa a "habitual offender," Surjewala stressed that this was not a Karnataka issue but that the entire nation should be concerned as Rs 1,800 crore is not a "small amount."

BJP Calls Documents Fake

Soon after Congress’ charge, Yeddyurappa, in an official statement, said that the I-T department has already said that the documents produced by Congress are fake.

(Photo: The Quint)

The official Twitter handle of BJP’s Karnataka unit has also called the handwriting, signature and diary fake.