DKS threatens to expose Ashwath’s ‘leakages’

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Sunday threatened to expose the “leakages” that took place under BJP MLA and former minister Ashwath Narayan when he was part of the Basavaraj Bommai cabinet.

The Karnataka Congress chief was reacting to Narayan’s remarks that the State government wouldn’t have had to hike the price of Nandini milk packet by Rs3 per litre from Rs39 to Rs42 if they had addressed the “irregularities” and “leakages” that were taking place in Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).

The price of Nandini curd will also reportedly go up by Rs3 per litre from Rs 47 to Rs 50. It is being said that the surplus price would be passed on to dairy farmers who are going through a rough patch.

The decisions are said to have been taken on Friday after a meeting between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and KMF officials. The State government and KMF haven’t officially announced the decisions, which require Cabinet approval.

Shivakumar was asked by mediapersons about Ashwath’s allegations on Sunday and an irate Deputy CM suggested that there had been irregularities under Narayan when he was minister.

Ashwath had held plum portfolios under the previous BJP government from 2019 to 2023 which included Higher Education, Information Technology and Bio-Technology (IT-BT) among others.

“There had been leakages when power was in his hands. Shall I expose them? Ask him?” Shivakumar told mediapersons.

Old foes exchange brickbats This isn’t the first time Shivakumar has suggested that Ashwath (both come from the Vokkaliga community) had indulged in corrupt dealings.

Back in May last year when BJP was in power and Narayan was a prominent Cabinet minister, Shivakumar, then in the Opposition, had suggested that Ashwath had met Congress leader MB Patil to seek “protection” when Congress would come to power.

The implication was that Patil would protect Narayan when Congress seized power because they were friends. The Karnataka Congress chief’s comment had caused a rift between him and Patil with the latter expressing displeasure at the comment, adding that it was a private visit.

Narayan also pointed out that Patil owned educational institutions and the former was the Higher Education minister. So the visit was natural, he added. However, Shivakumar and Patil buried the hatchet during Congress’ ‘Chintan Shivir’ programme in Udaipur, Rajasthan back in May 2022.

More recently, on June 27, during the Kempegowda Jayanthi celebrations held here, Ashwath Narayan had suggested that Shivakumar and the capital had no ties to each other, implying that the Deputy Chief Minister was ill-equipped to deal with the responsibilities that come with being the Bengaluru Development minister.