Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 21 (ANI): BJP legislators and leaders staged a protest march from the Valmiki statue to Vidhana Soudha on Friday, demanding the resignation of Karnataka minister B Nagendra following alleged financial irregularities over Valmiki Corporation scam allegations.
BJP leader R Ashoka said, “Our demand is for the public. Karnataka Congress government, D.K. Shivakumar and his colleague, Nagendra, have looted Rs 189 crores from Dalits. That amount has to be spent on Dalit development. So, for up to 3-4 years, not even a single rupee was given to Dalits… I think Rahul Gandhi and the All India Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge know this very well… On their direction only, his money went to Congress candidates… they immediately have to resign. Otherwise, our protest will go on continuously…”
Karnataka BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginakai said, “…For 4 days, we have been on strike against Nagendra as a cabinet minister. It’s very clear that everything has been revealed about Nagendra. Despite all the corruption charges against him, what was the need for him? Why did Siddaramaiah remove him? Why did he take DK Shivakumar in now? I think if he is removed now, I suspect that many names, from the central team to the Congress high command, from there to Karnataka, may be exposed in this case… But the one who embezzled the money of the Dalits, Rs. 100,000 NET 70 crore, it’s better for him to be removed. We are protesting against him today…”
Earlier, Karnataka Minister B Nagendra hit back at demands for his resignation, alleging he was being targeted because he is a Dalit and belongs to the Congress party.
“There are cases against the central ministers and MP’s. Why don’t you demand their resignations? Today, you are targeting me because I belong to the Congress party and because I am a Dalit,” Nagendra said.
Citing data, he alleged that there are “serious criminal cases against 126 people among the 326 people,” including “heinous offences such as kidnapping, rape, attempt to murder and sexual assault.”
Nagendra named leaders from the ruling party and demanded they resign first. “For instance, there is a Chief Minister from your party, Suvendu Adhikari, against whom there are 29 cases, including serious criminal cases. Before demanding my resignation, first make those 126 people resign. Make Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari resign. Make Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma resign,” he said.
“Instead of demanding their resignations, you are targeting a Dalit–a person who has risen from the grassroots through hard work,” he added.
The State Government claims that when the investigation was handed over to the CID, Nagendra resigned immediately to allow a transparent investigation. The Congress says that the Minister had stayed away from the investigation, fully cooperated with the authorities, and ₹79 crore has been recovered. The party further claims that there are detailed records and documents regarding the remaining ₹4-5 crore as well and not a single rupee has been lost by the Corporation. (ANI)
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