Senior BJP leader R Ashoka has accused the Karnataka Congress government of a Rs 14.95 crore fraud in the Dr B R Ambedkar Development Corporation, following a previous alleged scam in the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. Ashoka cited an ED press release detailing the siphoning of funds through fake accounts and forged documents, demanding accountability from the Congress leadership.
Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka assembly R Ashoka on Sunday announced that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Janata Dal-Secular would lay siege to Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on August 24 seeking the removal of planning and statistics minister B Nagendra from the cabinet.
Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar confirmed that Minister B Nagendra has offered to resign to avoid embarrassing the Congress party and the government, despite Shivakumar's insistence on Nagendra's innocence in the alleged Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam. The Chief Minister stated he would consult the party high command before making a final decision.
For the second time in two years, Karnataka minister B Nagendra resigned from the state Cabinet on Friday amid the Opposition heat over his alleged involvement in the Rs 89 crore Valmiki Corporation scam.
The CBI has filed three chargesheets against former Karnataka minister B Nagendra and his associate Nekkanti Nagaraj for allegedly diverting Rs 89 crore in state government funds intended for Scheduled Tribes.
Karnataka's two-month-old government saw its first cabinet expansion with 19 MLAs sworn in as ministers, leading to immediate discontent and the resignation of one Congress legislator over his exclusion.
Asked whether this was being done to "shield" the chief minister who is facing a probe in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment case, Patil said: "On CM there is a court order for Lakayukta probe, so there is no such question."
He is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court on Saturday where the ED will seek his remand for custodial interrogation.
Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.
A case was registered by the police against Congress MLA Channareddy Tannur and his son Pampanagouda Tannur on Saturday after a Dalit sub-inspector allegedly died by suicide, following his transfer within seven months of posting.
The BJP in Karnataka has claimed that the Lokayukta probe has cleared the party's previous government from 40 per cent commission charges, calling the allegations by the Congress "false". The BJP leaders claim that the allegations were part of the Congress' "tool kit" and were used during the 2023 Assembly polls to corner the then BJP government. However, the Congress government has stated that they have not yet seen the report and that acquittals happen due to a lack of evidence. The BJP has also alleged that the current Congress government is a "60 per cent commission government" and has cited several scams during their time in power.
The complainant accused the Consulting Editor of spreading false news about the scheme offered by the corporation and trying to disturb communal harmony in the state.
