K’taka Home Minister likely to be arrested: Former Dy CM
Bengaluru: Former Deputy Chief Minister and MLA C.N. Ashwath Narayan stated that the Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara is likely to be arrested following the raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on education institutions owned by him (Parameshwara).
Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Thursday, he responded to questions by pointing out that even the Deputy Chief Minister D K. Shivakumar has acknowledged a money transaction between Parameshwara and actress Ranya Rao, the main accused in the gold smuggling case, making it clear the Home Minister was involved in the scam.
“If any minister in the government collaborates with such syndicates that engage in anti-national activities, smuggling, or cause loss to the national revenue, action must be taken. The ED is already investigating, and once the report is out, everything will be clear. We are not interested in fueling Congress’s internal conflicts. We only want justice, and those guilty should be punished, that is both the stand of our party and the people,” he claimed.
He further said that the ED’s investigation on the Home Minister Parameshwara is ongoing and once completed, it will reveal whether money was transferred, used, received, or given; what relationship exists between Ranya Rao and the Home Minister; how long their dealings have continued; and how many others were involved in this alleged misuse of power.
He criticised the Congress government over its failure to provide essential medicines.
“The government has mandated that 730 types of medicines should be available all 365 days of the year. But since the Congress came to power, 200 medicines have not been available. When questioned about this in the Assembly, they had no answer,” he claimed.
He alleged that the Congress government is not receiving the commission it expects, which is why outdated medicines like two-year-old Ringer Lactate are being used, leading to the deaths of pregnant and postnatal women.
He pointed out the contradiction in the government’s claim of having spent Rs 17,500 crore on public hospitals.
“In those hospitals, X-ray machines work one day and fail the next. There is a lack of proper medicines and tablets. Doctors are unavailable. Even today, no serious investigation has been conducted into the deaths of pregnant and postnatal women,” Ashwath Narayan charged.
He accused the government and the Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao of targeting Jan Aushadhi centres and shutting them down arbitrarily.