Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has responded to Lokayukta officials arresting the son of a BJP MLA in Karnataka and called it ‘government’s war against corruption.' He also slammed the Congress party and said that it had shut down the Lokayukta body, only to escape from corruption charges.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Basavaraj Bommai said, “Our government doesn’t spare anyone who is involved in corruption, irrespective of their parties. A detailed probe will be conducted on the accused and the money that was caught. The Lokayukta body in the state was closed by the Congress government and we re-launched it after coming to power. Many Congress leaders escaped from it, and this is our war against corruption.”

On Thursday, Karnataka Lokayukta found Rs. 40 lakh cash at BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa's office at Bengaluru's Crescent Road, alleged to be bribe money. The anti-corruption wing of the Lokayukta raided Madal's office and caught his son, Prashanth Madal, who is a KAS officer, red-handed while he was taking bribes from a contractor for a project. Prashanth works as a chief accountant in the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). His father, Madal Virupakshappa, is a sitting MLA from the Channagiri constituency in Davanagere district.

The state unit of the Congress party alleged that the BJP leaders in Karnataka have more money than the Reserve Bank of India. A post in the official Twitter handle of the party read, “The houses of Karnataka BJP leaders have more money than the RBI. Is that why Amit Shah is making frequent visits to the state? The caught money was the money that was supposed to reach him?”