I was offered CM's post for Rs 2,500 cr, says Yatnal

Bengaluru: Days after Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal claimed that people from Delhi had approached him to offer him the Chief Minister's post in return for Rs 2,500 crore, the Congress demanded a probe, while Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai refused to comment on the matter.

The statement comes after rumours of a rejig in the State cabinet were doing the rounds.

"You will meet many thieves in politics who will offer you tickets, take you to Delhi, make you meet Sonia Gandhi, JP Nadda. Some people had come from Delhi and said that they would make me the Chief Minister if I arranged Rs 2,500 crore. Do they know how much is Rs 2,500 crore and where to keep it, in a room or a godown," former Union Minister and BJP MLA Yatnal had said on Thursday.

While Bommai refused to answer questions regarding it on Friday and Saturday, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar demanded a national-level discussion over it and a probe.

"There is a price fixed by the present BJP government in Karnataka for police sub-inspectors and assistant professors. There are a lot of corruption allegations. Yatnal is a BJP MLA and is expected to get a good portfolio in the near future. His statements must be taken seriously," he added.

Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah on Saturday demanded that an investigation be ordered as the allegations were "serious." He said: "If an investigation is not conducted, it only implies that Basavaraj Bommai has accepted to have paid crores of rupees to become the CM. He will not be able to continue as the CM on moral grounds. If we look at what Yatnal said, it shows that he has a lot of data on BJP's corruption. He should be called for investigation to extract information and reveal the truth."