Poster war escalates, Karnataka Congress leaders detained in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Sep 23: Karnataka Congress leaders DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaih and several others were detained in Bengaluru today in connection with the 'PayCM' campaign targeting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

"Yes, 'PayCM' poster protest will continue in the entire state. This is a campaign by the Congress party against this "40% corruption government", said Karnataka LoP Siddaramaiah, after being detained.

Posters of "PayCM' with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's photograph surfaced in parts of the city on Wednesday.

They were similar to electronic wallet Paytm. Bommai's face figures in the middle of the QR code with the message "40 % accepted here".

The development comes in the midst of an aggressive campaign against the state government by the Congress, which charged it with corruption in awarding public contracts and recruitment to government jobs.

Bommai ordered an inquiry into the matter and called it a "pseudo campaign" that maligned the image of Karnataka, PTI reported.

"It is a systematic conspiracy to spoil my name and also Karnataka. I have directed the officials concerned to book a case. We will get it investigated to find out the people behind it," Bommai told reporters in Bengaluru.

"This is a baseless campaign in social media. Everyone knows how to do such things. Also, people know who is running the campaign. These are pseudo campaigns, which have intensified only recently. This has no value," the CM further said.

Recently, a contractors' body alleged that contractors had to pay 40 per cent commission to get public works contracts. The allegation was strongly denied by the Karnataka government.