Bagalkote (K'taka): A Lingayat seer on Monday alleged that mutts (monasteries) are equally affected due to rampant corruption prevailing in the state as they too pay a commission of 30 per cent to get the sanctioned grants released for them.
Reacting to the statements, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said his government considers the seer's allegations "very seriously".
The accusation comes close on the heels of BJP leader K S Eshwarappa resigning from his ministerial position on Saturday after a contractor allegedly died by suicide in a hotel room in Udupi on April 12.
The contractor, in a purported WhatsApp message, had charged that he was compelled to take the extreme step because he was unable to meet Eshwarappa's demand of 40 per cent cut in a public work taken up in Hindalga village of Belagavi district in 2021.
"If a grant is sanctioned for a swami (seer), it reaches the mutt after 30 per cent deduction. This is the plain truth. Officials clearly tell you that unless the amount is deducted, your project will not start," Dingaleshwar Swamiji of Balehosur Mutt in Shirahatti taluk of Gadag said during a rally organised in Badagandi village in Bagalkote district.
The seer charged that none of the government programmes are happening properly in the state.
"There is a pathetic situation of paying 30 per cent commission. The work starts only after paying 30 per cent. Many contractors have stopped their works. There are only talks but no development is happening. Many MLAs fix the rate first before starting the work," the Swamiji claimed.