More deaths from corruption than Covid under BJP: Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge

BENGALURU: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son, Priyank Kharge, has alleged that corruption under the BJP-led govt caused more deaths than Covid-19. He cited findings from an interim report by the Justice Michael D’Cunha-led commission investigating a PPE procurement scam.
According to Kharge, who is also Karnataka’s IT-BT and rural development and panchayat raj minister, the report accuses the BJP of profiting from pandemic-related purchases, claiming they “made money on corpses.”
The report recommends criminal proceedings against former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and former health minister B.Sriramulu, highlighting alleged irregularities in PPE procurement during the pandemic.
He also ridiculed BJP saying: “On one hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says make in India and don’t buy from China but then home minister Basavaraj Bommai, in 2020, had directed authorities, to procure PPE and medical equipment from China, mentioning a directive from Union home minister Amit Shah.”
He said the monitoring committee, which functioned under the health department, decided to purchase 12 lakh PPE kits at an astonishing Rs 2,117.5 per kit, on March 18, 2020 and the govt procured medicines, chemicals and medical equipment for Rs 416.5 crore on March 17, 2020.
“Officials said they obtained three sets of rate lists, but Yediyurappa and Sreeramulu directed them to prepare a file insisting they would deal with the consequences,” Priyank said. “What the Justice D’Cunha committee’s interim report has revealed is just the tip of the iceberg. More is to come.”