Bangalore, Dec 9: Karnataka politicians and bureaucrats arraigned by the Lokayukta court are fed up of personal questions being asked by the Lokayukta police, reports Bangalore Mirror.
The Lokayukta police ask them seemingly inane questions like: How much do you and your family spend on toothpaste? On lipsticks and bindis? Washing soaps and toilet soaps? Perfumes? Face creams and shaving creams? How much do you spend on rituals, on tobacco, on non-vegetarian food? Or how often do you eat non-veg and drink alcohol?
Political leaders and bureaucrats, mired in alleged scams, cringe at the thought of Lokayukta sleuths piercing them with pointed queries, says the report.
Instead, Lokayukta sleuths record statements 1 to 23 to assess income and expenditure of officials and politicians in the dock.
While some are serious in nature and dwell on income, profit, loss, borrowings, properties, savings etc, others raise eyebrows.
Like questions on gardening expenses and money spent on pets, music, photos and videos.
Public servants accused of acquiring assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, like former bureaucrat H D Balakrishne Gowda have all faced these questions.
Some senior bureaucrats call the exercise nonsensical. “The questions asked are absolutely unscientific, ridiculous and nonsensical,” said a senior official.
“It's not practical to expect us to keep information on the money we have spent on rituals or the money spent on our pets,” said another senior officer.
"Can we keep count of the bindis or lipsticks used or how many times we have eaten non-vegetarian food? Do Lokayukta officials themselves keep count of such things? We will be raising the issue before the authorities shortly.”
Politicians like former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, and politicians Y. Sampangi, Katta Jagdish and K. Subrahmanya Naidu have also faced questions from Lokayukta police.
But Lokayukta police officials have their own argument.
“It may sound ridiculous to the common man, but these questions help us to evaluate the earnings and expenditure of the corrupt lot,” Lokayukta sleuths said.
“It's a scientific and practical method which helps to ascertain facts and go deeper into the case. Earlier, it was from statements 1 to 16. Now the number has increased. It helps us investigate better,” P K Shivshankar, SP, Lokayukta, told Bangalore Mirror.
Political leaders and bureaucrats, mired in alleged scams, cringe at the thought of Lokayukta sleuths piercing them with pointed queries. But instead, the anti-corruptions agency starts off with seemingly inane questions like: How much do you and your family spend on toothpaste? On lipsticks and bindis? Washing soaps and toilet soaps? Perfumes? Face creams and shaving creams? How much do you spend on rituals, on tobacco, on non-vegetarian food? Or better still, how often do you eat non-veg and drink alcohol?
Lokayukta sleuths record statements 1 to 23 to assess income and expenditure of officials and politicians in the dock. While some are serious in nature and dwell on income, profit, loss, borrowings, properties, savings etc, others raise eyebrows. Like questions on gardening expenses and money spent on pets, music, photos and videos.
Public servants accused of acquiring assets disproportionate to their known sources of income, like former bureaucrat H D Balakrishne Gowda have all faced these questions.
Some senior bureaucrats call the exercise nonsensical. “The questions asked are absolutely unscientific, ridiculous and nonsensical,” said a senior official.
“It's not practical to expect us to keep information on the money we have spent on rituals or the money spent on our pets,” said another senior officer.
“Can we keep count of the bindis or lipsticks used or how many times we have eaten non-vegetarian food? Do Lokayukta officials themselves keep count of such things? We will be raising the issue before the authorities shortly.”
“It may sound ridiculous to the common man, but these questions help us to evaluate the earnings and expenditure of the corrupt lot,” Lokayukta sleuths said.
“It's a scientific and practical method which helps to ascertain facts and go deeper into the case. Earlier, it was from statements 1 to 16. Now the number has increased. It helps us investigate better,” P K Shivshankar, SP, Lokayukta, told Bangalore Mirror.
