Bengaluru: “Our conclusion after studying it was that it is a forgery document. It is a set of loose papers,” said principal chief Income Tax Commissioner of Karnataka-Goa Region B R Balakrishnan thus dismissing the Yeddyurappa diary as forgery document and a set of loose papers.
The former Karnataka chief minister had been alleged to have paid bribe payment to top BJP brass. Speaking about it, Balakrishnan said that there was an attempt to just make use of the diary to influence some other investigation but they did not fall for it.
He further revealed that the documents were photocopies and were seized from Karnataka water resource minister D K Shivakumar’s residence in 2017.
They were later sent to the forensic science laboratory in Hyderabad but was returned saying that they need the original papers. Whatever came out in the Caravan magazine was not part of the Income Tax department’s seized material and that the diary had no evidentiary value, he said.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come forward and clarify on the matter. He cited the report by a news magazine that said a diary containing details of the alleged pay-offs to senior BJP leaders and it was seized by the Income Tax Department during raids.
However, Yeddyurappa termed the allegations – that he had paid Rs 1,800 crore as bribe to the BJP top brass – as atrocious and malicious.
The former Karnataka Chief Minister claimed that it was a closed chapter and accused that the Congress was raising the issue as it was frustrated over its imminent defeat in Lok Sabha polls and to gain political mileage. “Congress leaders are frustrated with the growing popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and BJP. They have realized that their defeat in the 2019 elections is imminent. They have lost the battle before it begun,” he said. He had also said that he was going to file defamation case after consulting with legal experts on this issue.
Reacting to the recent development, the BJP said that Congress leaders who levelled false allegations against BJP and its leaders stand exposed in public and that they should immediately apologise.
Regarding the outcome of raids at a Karnataka minister’s residence Balakrishnan apparently referring to Shivakumar said the process to confiscate the Benami property worth Rs 75 crore has been initiated. “The immediate consequence of a Benami transaction is that you lose the property. Prosecution is a different thing. We will think about that,” he added.