Bangalore:
After being attacked over a slew of corruption charges, Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is in the dock again. Opposition leader and former chief minister Kumaraswamy has now accused Yeddyurappa of receiving kickbacks through two family-owned companies in return for favouring a firm for a contract.
The JD(S) leader has in the past, carried out a concerted campaign against Yeddyurappa, accusing him of graft which saw the beleaguered chief minister survive a controversial trust vote.
The two companies, namely Davalagiri Property Developers and Sahyadri Health Care and Diagnostics were set up in 2009 with Yeddyurappa's sons and son-in-law as major shareholders.
Murudeshwara Power Corporation apparently invested Rs 2 crore in Sahyadri Health Care and Diagnostics and advanced Rs 11 crore to Davalagiri Property Developers.
Kumaraswamy alleges that the Yeddyurappa government, in return, awarded RNS Infrastructure Ltd - a group of companies managed by Murudeshwara Power Corporation - the Rs 1,032-crore Upper Bhadra Lift irrigation scheme package.
"A total of Rs 13 crore was taken by these two firms. For this, Yeddyurappa as the chief minister asked the irrigation department to award the company a work of Rs 1032 crore", said Kumaraswamy.
Yeddyurappa, meanwhile, dismissed the latest allegations, slamming the Opposition for running a smear campaign against him.
"Sri H.D. Deve Gowda and his family members have indulged in petty poitics. They are making malicious statements against me and my family members with baseless issues", said Yeddyurappa.
The embattled chief minister is already under tremendous pressure from within his party, the BJP, over corruption allegations surrounding him and his family. Unhappy with his dictatorial ways, party MLAs reportedly are also demanding a change in leadership.