Suggested to Karnataka CM that his son quits private firm: Digvijay Singh

NEW DELHI: Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh today said he had suggested to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that his son quits a company which was given a contract for setting up a diagnostic laboratory at the government-owned Bangalore Medical College.

Singh, who is in charge of party affairs in Karnataka, however, denied reports that he had asked the Chief Minister to order an inquiry into the matter.

"The whole thing is totally transparent. It was the lowest tender by the company. The file never came to the Chief Minister. I have not asked for an inquiry.

"I have only advised that he withdraws. It is not an order, but an advice. Legally, the son does not have to quit. As a (matter of) propriety, he may," Singh told PTI when asked whether he had asked the Chief Minister to ensure that his son resigns from the company.

Siddaramaiah's son is a director of Matrix Imaging Solutions India Private Limited which has been given the contract to set up lab and diagnostic facilities at the hospital, a development which has been made an issue by the opposition as also some detractors of the Chief Minister within Congress.

Karnataka is among the handful of states run by Congress which lost power at the Centre two years ago.