Bengaluru: A major political confrontation has erupted in Karnataka after Upalokayukta Justice B. Veerappa expressed serious concern over what he described as an alarming surge in corruption across the state. Speaking at a book launch event held at the High Court Lawyers’ Hall, Justice Veerappa remarked that corruption was now “rampant in every department” and had reached an estimated 63 per cent in Karnataka, a figure he contrasted sharply with Kerala’s “only 10 per cent corruption”.
His warning that corruption, if not curtailed immediately, “will become a major threat in the future,” has intensified the political narrative around accountability and systemic failures within the state administration.
BJP attacks Congress
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swiftly responded on the Upalokayukta’s remarks, launching a sharp attack on the ruling Congress government. Opposition leader R. Ashok, in a strongly worded post on X, accused the Siddaramaiah-led administration of pushing the state into a deeper corruption crisis despite being elected on the promise of clean governance.
Ashok wrote that the Congress, which had targeted the former BJP government with allegations of a “40 per cent commission,” is now “completely immersed in commission rackets”. He added that the Upalokayukta’s statement itself acted as a “certificate” proving the extent of corruption in the present government.
How many times will you repeat the same lie, CM @siddaramaiah avare?
Yes, the report was released in 2019,
but the survey was done for the previous year, 2018, when you were the Chief Minister and your @INCKarnataka Govt was looting Karnataka.So the 63% corruption figure… https://t.co/gb9pFIjgiL pic.twitter.com/SFsdxhggX1
— R. Ashoka (@RAshokaBJP) December 5, 2025
Demanding accountability from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Ashok asked whether they would “resign on moral grounds” following the damning observations. He further accused the Congress of misleading the people of Karnataka with “lies, propaganda, and deception,” claiming that the party, which won 136 seats in the last Assembly elections, “will not even win 36 seats” if elections were held today.
According to him, corruption has now infiltrated “every department of the government,” leaving the ruling party with “no moral authority” to preach about transparency or governance.
Congress counters, cites earlier report
As the political firestorm grew, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah responded by clarifying the context behind the 63% corruption figure. He posted on X that Justice Veerappa had referred to a Transparency International India report from November 2019, not a present-day audit. He further stated that the corruption survey cited was conducted in 2018, when the BJP government led by B.S. Yediyurappa was in power.
Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of “deliberately twisting Upalokayukta’s words” to shift the blame onto the Congress. He alleged that R. Ashok either “did not understand the Upalokayukta’s statement properly” or was intentionally attempting to “tie the knot of BJP’s sins on our heads.”
The Chief Minister’s rebuttal aimed to defuse the narrative pushed by the opposition, stressing that the data referred to an earlier period and did not reflect corruption levels under the current government.
Ashok hits back again
Refusing to relent, R. Ashok launched a fresh counterattack on the Chief Minister. He mocked Siddaramaiah for “quietly editing” his earlier claim from a Lokayukta report to a Transparency International report. Ashok insisted that the figures highlighted by Justice Veerappa were part of a 2019 publication based on a 2018 corruption survey — a time when Siddaramaiah himself was serving as Chief Minister.
CM @siddaramaiah avare,
Good that after calling it a Lokayukta report last night, you quietly edited your post to Transparency International Report.
At least the correction shows you realised how badly you had blundered.
But now let’s set the facts straight.
The Transparency… https://t.co/eDxnRT5N65 pic.twitter.com/zusVWFRDWj
— R. Ashoka (@RAshokaBJP) December 5, 2025
Ashok challenged Siddaramaiah to explain “why 63 per cent of Karnataka’s citizens had to pay bribes during your rule.” Escalating his attack, he said:
“The country may forgive the stupidity of your supreme leader Rahul Gandhi. But the people of Karnataka will never forgive you, who led the most corrupt governments in the history of the state.”
He accused Siddaramaiah and the Congress of “shamelessly distorting facts” instead of addressing systemic corruption, asserting that Karnataka had “topped corruption charts year after year” under Congress leadership.
