Siddaramaiah sends legal notice to BJP, PM Modi and Amit Shah

The BJP has levelled charges of corruption against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah who has now sent a legal notice for criminal and civil defamation.

IANS Photo

Bengaluru: On a day when BJP accused him of 'aiding, abetting, protecting and promoting' the cheating of private investors in an alleged Ponzi scheme run by a company. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday sent a legal notice to the party, PM Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and BJP's CM candidate for Karnataka BS Yeddyurappa.

Lashing out against BJP and its political leaders, Siddaramaiah sent a legal notice for criminal and civil defamation for corruption charges made against him - according to news agency ANI. Earlier in the day, Siddaramaiah had also questioned why BJP is pointing fingers at him even as it 'allowed' criminals like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi to leave the country. "He (PM) calls himself a 'chowkidar'. He let Nirav Modi and Mallaya escape, what kind of 'chowkidar' is he? He keeps saying 'achhe din' but where are 'achhe din'? He thinks that just because he is saying it in Hindi we won't understand but we understand pretty well," Siddaramaiah said.

The battle between Congress and BJP leaders has intensified with just days remaining for the May 12 elections in the state. BJP fired a fresh salvo against Siddaramaiah when party spokesperson Sambit Patra informed that the party intends to file a complaint with the governor to sanction the prosecution of Siddaramaiah for dealing with the company, "which is declared as a threat to national security by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO)." According to news agency PTI, the BJP also sought to know whether Siddaramaiah received a costly Hublot watch for 'facilitating' the company, QI Group of Companies, headed by Vijay Eswaran, to operate in the state.

Congress, on its part, has already levelled charges of corruption against Yeddyurappa and has also questioned BJP's decision of giving tickets to Bellary's Reddy brothers, who are accused in the iron ore mining scam.