Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday said he was ready to retire from politics if his direct or indirect role in the alleged KPSC recruitment irregularities was proved.
People won’t forget what stance those questioning the present issue had taken at the time,” he said. “During the previous BJP government, allegations had emerged regarding the PSI recruitment scam. The names of BJP leaders had surfaced in connection with the case. The minister urged investigating agencies to identify those actually responsible for the KPSC irregularities.
Pointing out that recruitment irregularities could affect the employment prospects and future of young people, he said BJP and JD(S) leaders should remember incidents from their own previous tenure in government. He said the roles of intermediaries, officials and anyone with political connections should be investigated, regardless of who they are. Priyank said the government would respond if Kumaraswamy made his allegations with supporting documents. Merely making allegations, getting them circulated in the media and then backing away without providing evidence was not responsible politics, he said.
He criticised Union minister H D Kumaraswamy for alleging irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission’s recruitment process without providing any documents or evidence, saying such conduct was unbecoming of a former chief minister and union minister. “Those making allegations against me should speak with documents in hand. If there is evidence supporting the allegations, let there be an investigation and let the truth come out.
But continuously making allegations without documents amounts to hit-and-run politics, and it has become a practice for Kumaraswamy,” Priyank said. Speaking to reporters here, he claimed that Kumaraswamy had recently visited an RSS office and alleged that the organisation or Union Minister Amit Shah appeared to have given the JD(S) leader a “contract” to target him, as BJP leaders “were incapable” of doing so.
