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On 4 May, the Bharatiya Janata Party s (BJP) Karnataka Member of Parliament, Tejasvi Surya, walked into a Bengaluru South COVID-19 war room waving a sheaf of papers. He then read out 16 presumably Muslim names, asking Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials, ‘Why were they recruited?
Surya later called a press conference ‘exposing’ a bed allocation scam in BBMP, accusing officials of allotting beds to those who paid high rates. Shortly after, the contractual employees were removed from BBMP rolls without cause. The MP, who faced a severe backlash for targeting the officials on communal lines, has now been claiming that the list of names “was given to him”, presumably from the BBMP.
Did not communalise scam, claims Tejasvi Surya
Updated:
Updated:
May 11, 2021 11:59 IST
However, Muslim youths, who were told not to report to work after his visit to the South Zone war room, refuted the claims of the BJP MP.
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File photo of Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya
| Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M
However, Muslim youths, who were told not to report to work after his visit to the South Zone war room, refuted the claims of the BJP MP.
Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya denied communalising the alleged bed-blocking scam and claims that he did so was a “conspiracy by Congress and its ecosystem” to derail the probe into the scam.
Tejasvi Surya draws ire of media, civil society for spreading communal hatred
Bid to give communal twist to appointment of a few Muslim employees by the civic body blows in his face
By M A Siraj| Updated: 12th May 2021 10:37 pm IST BJP MP Tejasvi Surya
Bengaluru: Tejasvi Surya, MP representing the elite Bengaluru South constituency, has proved to be a great embarrassment for the party and the government in Karnataka. In his bid to deflect the public attention from the government’s failure in attending to crisis induced by the Covid pandemic, he made a false allegation accusing the civic body of ‘appointing Muslim terrorists’. But the facts highlighted by the media have led to a storm of protest against the man who is known for often floating canards.
Bengaluru bed scam: Days after row, BBMP reinstates 17 suspended Covid war room workers
The 17 employees at Bengaluru s Covid war room, who were asked to leave after Tejasvi Surya alleged a bed-blocking scam mentioning names of Muslim staffers, have been reinstated by the BBMP.
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UPDATED: May 10, 2021 12:44 IST
Police sources said that investigation into the scam pertaining to blocking beds in private hospitals for Covid patients has not revealed the involvement of those whose names were mentioned by MP Tejasvi Surya. (PTI File Photo)
Seventeen people who were suspended following a raid at a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Covid war room by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya have been reinstated by the civic body.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya tried to stonewall many questions on Bengaluru bed controversy.
Bengaluru:
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Monday faced tough questions on allegations of targeting 17 Muslim employees at a Covid war room in Bengaluru and avoided answering most of them.
Last week, after the Bengaluru South MP revealed details of a bed-blocking scam in his party-controlled civic body BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palik), a video exposed a communal twist to the allegations.
In the video, Tejasvi Surya was seen at a BBMP Covid war room with three BJP MLAs, grilling officials. He read out a list of 17 Muslim names (from a total of 205 employees) and questioned: Who are all these people? First shift, second shift, night shift. 17 people in the list in three shifts. What was the process of hiring? 17 people. Who are these people?