'Congress pumping money into Telangana from Karnataka', alleges BRS

Hyderabad, Oct 13 (IANS) Amid the Income Tax (I-T) raids in Karnataka which reportedly found Rs 42 crore cash, Telangana’s ruling party BRS on Friday alleged that the Congress was trying to pump in money into Telangana Assembly elections.

Minister for finance T. Harish Rao alleged that the Congress had planned to pump in Rs 1,500 crore by collecting commission from builders and gold merchants in Bengaluru.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader said that the Congress wants to influence the voters in Telangana with the illegal money from Karnataka.

He said earlier when the BJP was in power in Karnataka, it used to collect commission of 40 per cent from contractors but after Congress came to power the commission has gone up to 50 per cent.

Harish Rao was reacting to the reports of I-T raids in Bengaluru. The I-T officials reportedly found Rs 42 crore cash from the house of a contractor.

Earlier, BRS working president K. T. Rama Rao had alleged on September 30 that the Congress government in Karnataka was levying ‘political election tax’ on Bengaluru builders to fund the party in Telangana.

He had stated that Karnataka’s newly elected Congress government started levying a “political election tax” of Rs 500 per square foot to Bengaluru builders to fund Telangana Congress.

He had told a public meeting that Congress was getting money from Karnataka and Chhattisgarh and spending in Telangana to woo voters.

Elections to the 119-member Telangana Assembly are scheduled to be held on November 30.

Leaders of the Congress party have exuded confidence that the party will repeat its Karnataka performance in Telangana to storm to power.