Agri dept officers’ letter fake, says Siddu

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Even as Agriculture Minister N Cheluvaraya Swamy called upon Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to probe bribery allegations against him, the CM sought to deny the veracity of the claims.

It is being whispered that a group of officers in the Agriculture department wrote to Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, claiming that Cheluvaraya Swamy had been demanding bribes ranging between Rs 6 lakh to Rs 8 lakh.

Gehlot hasn’t made an official statement on the same, but has reportedly asked Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma to look into the allegations.

Moreover, there is a letter that has been doing the rounds on social media, which Siddaramaiah called fake, adding that there had been no complaints from officials from the department to begin with.

“A complaint letter from Mandya district officials to the Governor is doing the rounds on certain websites. It was found to be fake. The Joint Director of the Agriculture Department has said that there are no such officers in Mandya district. However, we will look into it and investigate if necessary. Are BJP Karnataka’s leaders peddling fake letters to propagandise against the government or is it your brother?” Siddaramaiah asked.