BENGALURU: The arrest of senior IPS officer Amrit Paul may be a significant milestone so far as investigation into the PSI recruitment scam goes, but political circles are abuzz with whispers of this opening up a Pandora's box ahead of next year's assembly elections.
That it could land the BJP, a party which has been projecting a clean image, into a turmoil has the opposition upbeat. But the incumbent believes it will eventually gain advantage as it will be seen as being responsible for shaking up a corrupt system the Congress had allegedly put in place.
The home minister's denials of such a scam multiple times, and the government downplaying its magnitude, could backfire on the ruling party, political observers said.
That the investigation needed more than just a nudge from the high court to lead to such a high-profile arrest, reflects the deep-rooted corruption in the government that goes all the way to Vidhana Soudha, opposition members claimed. Initial stages of the probe and the arrest of a person identified as Darshan had seen allegations levelled against minister Ashwath Narayan, who later denied his involvement.
Priyank Kharge, former minister and Chittapur MLA (Congress) told TOI: "Today's arrest shows a 40% (kickback) government exists. It is noteworthy that even this was not because of an independent probe, but a rap on the knuckles by the high court. Left to the government, they would have buried the case and that's the reason we've been demanding a judicial probe. If that happens, the trail will lead all the way up to Vidhana Soudha."
Former CM HD Kumaraswamy, who had once threatened to name the kingpin of the scam and topple the government, however, refrained from doing so. On Monday, he urged on Twitter that high-ranking officials and influential kingpins at the government level should not escape this probe but was unavailable for comments. His office said he had been summoned by his father.
BJP state general secretary N Ravikumar told TOI: "The Congress had a well-oiled machinery that saw money move all the way up, thereby, preventing scams from becoming public. We've disturbed that by bringing out scams. That's the reason why such a speedy investigation is taking place and we guarantee that all the people involved will be punished."
Kharge, however, argued that the government has been caught red-handed trying to cover up a scam. "See how this probe has progressed. First the denials, then calling in the CID but restricting the probe to Kalaburagi. Then denials again about raids of the ADGP's office and now accepting that.There was also one candidate who had links to a minister. He was released immediately only to be arrested later."
