Congress alleges corruption in PPE purchase

Accusing some Ministers of indulging in corrupt practices in the purchase of Personal Protection Equipment and other medical appliances for COVID-19 treatment, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Saleem Ahmed said on Friday that Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri should have permitted the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Legislative Assembly to inquire into the issue.

H.K. Patil, who heads the committee, on Thursday had criticised Mr. Kageri’s decision to stop the committee members from probing charges into “gross misuse of public fund during procurement of health equipment to fight COVID-19 in the State”.

In a letter to the Speaker, Mr. Patil said Mr. Kageri had issued an order preventing him and the panel members from conducting the probe into alleged misuse of money by government departments in the procurement of health equipment for handling COVID-19. Mr. Kageri had responded to it saying that the restrictions were only on account of the lockdown.

Mr. Ahmed told reporters that there were allegations against some Ministers for bagging the contract for the supply of PPEs and other medical equipment for the firms of their close associates. “We (the party members) have secured the information on these transactions and have passed it on to the PAC,” he said.

The Speaker should have been fair and granted permission to Mr. Patil, a senior member of the Legislature Assembly, to inquire into the issue, Mr. Ahmed said, and added that denial of permission gives rise to suspicion that the purchases of the PPEs and other essential items were not done in a fair manner.