The Congress Sunday accused the erstwhile BJP authorities below former chief minister B S Yediyurappa of ‘profiting over lifeless our bodies’ through the Covid-19 pandemic.
The assault got here after the interim report submitted by Justice Michael D’Cunha Fee – shaped to probe Covid-19 irregularities – advisable prosecution towards Yediyurappa and former well being minister B Sriramulu.
Karnataka IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge instructed a information convention that the portion of the report which particulars procurement of PPE kits throughout March and April 2020, confirmed that PPE kits had been bought from two Chinese language corporations at inflated costs. This was carried out even if PPE kits had been regionally out there at decrease costs, he added.
In line with the report, direct procurement orders had been issued by Yediyurappa and Sriramulu for 2 corporations – Huge Prescribed drugs (one lakh kits) and DHB World Hong Kong (two lakh kits) – at a value of Rs 2,117 per unit, which included the transportation price from Hong Kong to Bengaluru.
After issuing buy orders on April 2, 2020, the federal government added a corrigendum to the settlement and agreed to bear transportation fees. As a consequence of this, the BJP authorities paid Rs 21.35 crore to move items price Rs 62 crore, Kharge mentioned. Furthermore, DHB World has “ceased to exist”. It was based in 2019, bagged the contract inside a 12 months and closed down, the minister added.
Weeks earlier, on March 14, 2020, the state-run Karnataka State Medical Provides Company Restricted had procured PPE kits regionally at Rs 333.4 per unit. Subsequently, the federal government procured kits at various vary of costs, the minister mentioned, citing the report.
“The BJP made cash out of corpses… It is extremely clear now that the BJP had made a precedence of being profitable over corpses,” he mentioned, including that the seven-volume interim report of the D’Cunha Fee had highlighted a number of different irregularities.
Whereas the Karnataka authorities led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has mentioned that it could implement the suggestions of the Fee, Yediyurappa has refuted the allegations. The Congress, the BJP chief mentioned, was making an attempt to dig up the previous. “I’m assured that I’ve carried out nothing unsuitable,” he instructed reporters Saturday.
The Fee had submitted its interim report in August this 12 months and parts of the report got here out Saturday. In August, the Fee was given a six-month extension to submit its last report.
