‘ NDA rule is 90% commission govt’

Bengaluru, Feb. 22: Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged the NDA government at the Centre was a “90 per cent commission government.”

Mr Modi had recently dubbed the Congress dispensation a “10 per cent commission government” during public meetings in Karnataka.

Mr Siddaramaiah’s remark came during his reply to the motion of thanks to the governor for his address.

“The previous BJP government in Karnataka was the most corrupt ... And the present dispensation at the Centre is a 90 per cent commission government,” he alleged. Mr Siddaramaiah said the BJP and its leaders had failed to prove their allegations against his government.

“According to the law, whoever levels charges against anyone, should prove them. The BJP and its leaders here have been levelling corruption charges and calling my rule a 10 per cent commission government, but have failed to prove these charges,” he said.

The remarks led to a heated exchange of words between the treasury and Opposition benches.

An undeterred Siddaramaiah said his government did not need any lessons on clean governance from a party whose “four ministers are in jail for corruption”.

He alleged the Centre was looking the other way when billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi used his clout to slip out of the country.

— PTI Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia with Kamal Nath and tribal leader Kantilal Bhuria take part in a roadshow before a public meeting ahead of Kolaras bypoll in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.