Women have to sleep with someone to get job: Cong leader’s comment sparks row

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, August 14, 2022: Karnataka Congress leader Priyank Kharge on Friday started a political tussle by making grave allegations against the BJP-ruled government in the state when he said that men “have to bribe” to get a government job in Karnataka while “young women have to sleep with someone” for the same.

Kharge, who is a spokesperson for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), has demanded judicial investigation or a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into recruitment scams. He sought that the government set up a fast-track court.

ನಾನು ’ಲಂಚ ಮಂಚದ ಸರ್ಕಾರ’ ಎಂದಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯವರಿಗೆ ಉರಿ ಬಿದ್ದಿದೆ! ಸತ್ಯ ಆ ಮಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಕಹಿಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ!

ಬಿಜೆಪಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಲಂಚ, ಮಂಚದ ಪುರಾಣವಿರದಿದ್ದರೆ ಒಬ್ಬ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸಚಿವರು, ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸಚಿವರು ರಾಜೀನಾಮೆ ನೀಡಿದ್ದೇಕೆ?

ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಸಂಸದರು, ಮಂತ್ರಿಗಳು,ಶಾಸಕರು ಕೋರ್ಟಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲು ತಡೆಯಾಜ್ಞೆ ತಂದಿದ್ದೇಕೆ?

— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) August 12, 2022

According to an ANI report, Kharge made allegations of corruption against the ruling BJP in recruitment for various posts in the state. Kharge said, “The government has decided to sell posts. If young women want a government job, they should sleep with someone. Men have to give bribes for government jobs. A minister had asked the young woman to sleep with him for a job. He resigned after the scandal came to light and this is proof of my words.”

"According to the information I have, it is possible that the deal has been done for a total of 600 posts. It is suspected that they have received ₹50 lakh for the post of Assistant Engineer and Rs.30 lakh for the post of Junior Engineer. There is a possibility that Rs.300 crores of embezzlement have taken place in this alone," he said on recent recruitments in a press conference, as quoted by ANI.

Kharge went on to blame the BJP in Karnataka ‘playing with the future’ of lakhs of aspirants who applied for the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd.

"Where should the poor and talented students go if there are irregularities in every recruitment examination? The perpetrators and the middlemen know that nothing would happen to them even if any scam comes to light. The government is playing with the future of about 3 lakh students who have applied for the posts of KPTCL," the Congress MLA was quoted as saying.

The Karnataka BJP retorted to the allegations saying Kharge fails to see what his party is doing before making such statements. “Ex minister Priyank Kharge cannot see the tiles of his own house before making statements like these. It was during the Congress government that the Jayamala bribery scandal was exposed and we all know who was involved in it,” the BJP Karnataka said in a Twitter thread.