BJP state unit president K.S. Eshwarappa on Saturday defended the convicted KGF MLA Y. Sampangi, saying that every party has tainted people, but it is yet to come out in the open. Mr Eshwarappa, who was in Tumkur on Saturday to campaign for BJP candidate for the South East Teachers’ constituency Y.A. Narayanaswamy, said the Lokayukta court verdict on Sampangi was not final. The BJP MLA still has chances to prove that he is innocent.
In the meanwhile, the Congress has welcomed the Lokyukata court verdict convicting KGF MLA Y. Sampangi in a bribery case. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G. Parameshwar said, “The judgment will be a lesson to all corrupt politicians. Sampangi is the first BJP MLA to have opened the account at the Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. Many other BJP leaders too are in the queue. The Congress has been fighting corrupt deeds of the ruling party from the beginning. Our party urges the state government to immediately appointment a Lokayukta, as more than 25,000 cases are pending before the corruption watchdog.”