Oppn demands Karnataka Lokayukta’s resignation

BENGALURU: The BJP and the JD(S) on Thursday joined the chorus demanding the resignation of Karnataka Lokayukta Y Bhaskar Rao whose son has been booked by the Lokayukta police for allegedly blackmailing a senior bureaucrat invoking his father’s name.

According to an FIR registered by the Lokayukta on Wednesday, Ashwin Rao, Bhaskar Rao’s son, demanded ` 1 crore from a government official inside the Lokayukta office on May 4 to save him from a raid by the anti corruption agency. Bhaskar Rao has been refusing to step down ever since the scandal broke a fortnight ago. He has consistently defended his son saying he was not in Bengaluru when the official was blackmailed. A day after the Aam Aadmi Party, Var Council of Karnataka and several other organisations staged demonstrations demanding Bhaskar Rao’s resignation, JDS national president and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda

ACCORDING TO AN FIR, BHASKAR RAO’S SON DEMANDED 1 CR FROM A GOVT OFFICIAL INSIDE THE LOKAYUKTA OFFICE ON MAY 4

too jumped into the bandwagon.

“The Lokayukta, which is supposed to be an anti-corruption watchdog, has been reduced to a street dog,” Gowda said while demanding a CBI probe into the scandal. Led by Lok Sabha MP PC Mohan, a BJP delegation too demanded a CBI probe and submitted a memorandum to the governor seeking his intervention in replacing Bhaskar Rao. Reacting to the BJP and the JDS position, the AAP said that these parties were trying to save face now that the blackmail scandal became a major issue. “Why were they silent all these days? Both these parties could move an impeachment motion against Bhaskar Rao. Instead, they are holding meaningless press conferences,” said AAP convenor Siddharth Sharma.