Bengaluru, Nov 10 (IANS): Former minister and Congress MLA Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said that if the Bitcoin scandal is investigated thoroughly and transparently, the BJP government in Karnataka will soon see a third Chief Minister.

For the first time, the Opposition Congress has openly linked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai directly to the Bitcoin scandal. It is said that Bommai will now have a tough job on hand as he is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President J.P.Nadda.

Priyank, the son of Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that the hacker had hacked into three Bitcoin exchanges, 14 websites, including 10 poker websites, and exploited malwares. The total of which is speculated to be around Rs 2,283 crore but it is not disclosed. Why was this not informed to more competent authorities? he questioned.

He further stated, "my questions are simple. Where are the Bitcoins seized from the hacker Sriki? Why was the mention of seized 31 Bitcoins of Rs 9 crore left out of the charge sheet? Why was a hacker granted bail by police after claiming to have hacked government websites?"

Asked about comments by Priyank Kharge, Congress State President D.K. Shivakumar stated that the Bommai government should share with public information they have gathered, seized articles, where are seized Bitcoins, whose wallet they are kept, whose names are mentioned in the letter written to the PMO.

"We are gathering information and making it public. It's the duty of the government to provide information to the court. Let the BJP government arrest the son of a Congress leader if they have the capacity, they shouldn't spare anyone," he said.

When questioned about the name of CM Bommaia's son being taken regarding the Bitcoin scandal, he said that he won't talk about someone without documents. "I am not able to comprehend the volume of transactions in the scandal, If the statistics are to be believed, I will faint," he said.