Hit by Bitcoin scam charge, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai vows ‘merciless action’

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday asserted that his government is ‘ready to sacrifice anyone involved' in the Bitcoin scam and challenged the Congress to name the "influential people" it has alleged are behind the irregularities. "The Congress says there are some influential people involved in it (Bitcoin scam). If you know them, then name them. We will investigate it without any second thought. If there is anyone involved in the country or in the state, we will initiate action mercilessly," Bommai told reporters.

He was reacting to a query on Congress national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala's allegations. "We are the ones who brought out this scam. We will not spare anyone and are ready to sacrifice anyone involved in it. There is no question of any second thought on our decision. To hide the role of Congress, you are naming persons who are nowhere in the picture," he charged. At a press conference on Saturday, Surjewala alleged that the size of the scam could be much bigger because just on two days on December 1, 2020, and April 14, 2021, illegal transactions worth Rs 5,240 crore took place.

He had also posed a series of questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked what was the role of Bommai, who was the state's home minister when the scam took place. Surjewala also demanded to know why international investigation agencies, including the Interpol, were not informed about the stolen Bitcoins. The CM sought to know why the Congress government in Karnataka between 2013 and 2019 did not probe the matter when the scam started in 2016.

"If there was a Karnataka connection to it, then why did you not probe it when you were in the government? Surjewala should question the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ministers why they did not heed to it," Bommai charged.

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