Bangalore Mirror: Bangalore: Friday,
April 08, 2016.
Suspicions
are rife on whether chief minister Siddaramaiah's ceremonious handing over of
his Rs 70 lakh diamond-studded Hublot watch to the speaker of the legislative
assembly on March 2, was just an eyewash. Nothing about the watch has been
documented, nor is anyone from the government willing to reveal anything about
its whereabouts.
This has come
about after chief secretary's (CS) office turned down a Right To Information
(RTI) application - one of first on the controversial Hublot watch - to furnish
photos of the watch, which was said to have been kept in the cabinet hall in
Vidhana Soudha. The CS office has simply stated that it has no photographs of
the watch.
Not
documenting a state property, the RTI applicant and activist S Bhaskaran said,
only raised suspicions on whether there are attempts being made to shield chief
minister Siddaramaiah in the watch-gate scandal pertaining to which several
complaints have been lodged with different agencies.
Even after a
month of his RTI application, Bhaskaran has neither received the certified
copies of the documents pertaining to the chief minister handing over the watch
to the speaker, declaring it as state property.
What has
taken the RTI activist by surprise is the CS's office's candid admission on
receiving the watch and the non-availability of photographs.
Speaking to
Bangalore Mirror, Bhaskaran reasons: "It's a state property. It has to be
documented by way of photography. But this has not been done, claims the CS
office. If not for RTI, what will they do if it is stolen? By not giving
photographs and admitting that they don't have photographs, it seems there is
something fishy. It could be an attempt to either avoid any further controversy
or safeguard the chief minister by not sharing it."
Bhaskaran on
March 5 had sought certified copies of all the documents submitted by the chief
minister on March 2 to the speaker on the floor of Karnataka assembly with
regard to the Hublot watch, along with front and rear photographs of the watch.
The reply
from the chief secretary's office came on April 2, stating that the photographs
were not available. Although another part of the information sought has been
forwarded to the speaker's office, there is no mention on what could be done to
provide information in form of photography - which raises suspicions on whether
the watch is really stored in the cabinet hall as has been informed to the
public; or even its whereabouts; and whether this exercise of denying
information is a way to safeguard the chief minister.
Sharanappa,
personal secretary to chief secretary (cabinet affairs), has said in his
replies to the RTI queries from Bhaskaran: "The Hublot watch received by
the chief secretary to government from the office of the hon'ble Speaker of
Karnataka legislative assembly has been kept in the cabinet hall. There are no
photographs of the said watch available in the cabinet section. Hence, the
front and rear photographs of the Hublot watch cannot be furnished, As regards
furnishing of certified copies of the documents submitted by the hon'ble chief
minister to the hon'ble speaker on March 2, 2016, the office of the hon'ble
speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly is being requested to furnish the
said documents directly to you."
Bhaskaran
plans to move the first appellate authority against the denial of information
pertaining to a state property.
A photograph,
a senior officer said, may also throw light on the make of the watch - which is
custom made - and in turn unravel further details about the watch and help in
ascertaining claims by chief minister that it was gifted by an NRI friend, or
even the counter-claims by Siddaramaiah's detractors alleging that the watch
was a 'gift' for certain favours rendered in exchange.
The
watch-gate, which rocked the assembly last month and embarrassed both the chief
minister Siddaramaiah and the congress party - not only in Bengaluru, but also
in New Delhi - has left several questions unanswered. Any further information
under the RTI - the only way to access information on the watch - could make it
worse for the chief minister, and therefore efforts may be on to stop any
further damage, a source said.
Complaints
have been filed on the watch-gate scam with Lokayukta, Anti-Corruption Bureau,
and Enforcement Directorate.
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