Bengaluru:
Congress chief B Nagendra broke down on Friday night as he introduced his resignation from DK Shivakumar’s Karnataka Cupboard amid relentless fireplace from the BJP over corruption allegations that had pressured him to give up two years earlier too. He’d made a comeback within the first week of August when Shivakumar changed Siddaramaiah as chief minister within the Congress authorities.
The principle Opposition Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP) continued to underline alleged irregularities of Rs 89 crore within the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Improvement Company. The difficulty got here to mild after the company’s accounts officer Chandrasekharan P died by suicide in Could 2024, forsaking a be aware alleging unauthorised switch of funds. Investigations then discovered giant sums had been transferred from the company’s financial institution accounts to varied different accounts.
Requested if the celebration excessive command had instructed him to step down, Nagendra instructed NDTV, “No, I take my very own choices.”
A outstanding ST chief who was the Tribal Welfare Minister in Siddaramaiah’s cupboard earlier than the celebration determined to make Shivakumar the CM, Nagendra had resigned in June 2024 amid the controversy. He was re-inducted on August 3 after Shivakumar took over, and obtained the Planning and Statistics portfolio.
On the press meet the place he introduced he is quitting, Nagendra stated, “I imagine within the Structure… We requested the BJP many instances to return and focus on the allegations towards me within the Meeting, however they did not… The place is the proof?” He alleged that the BJP desires to “impose the Manusmriti” and has an “anti-tribal mindset”; and stated he was being attacked “as a result of I’m Dalit”. He then acknowledged, “I’m resigning out of my very own free will,” and broke down.
Nagendra gained on the BJP ticket in 2008, then as an impartial candidate in 2013 from Kudligi; and joined the Congress in 2018, successful twice in a row from Bellary (ST-reserved).
He stated he didn’t wish to hand the BJP a problem for its deliberate protest march. The Karnataka BJP has introduced a 10-day foot march from Raichur to Ballari from September 1 to 10 to focus on the alleged failures of the Congress authorities within the state. The re-induction of Nagendra was anticipated to be a serious situation in that 200-km padayatra, other than allegations of farmer misery, unemployment and alleged corruption in recruitment, he added. Union Minister Pralhad Joshi is scheduled to inaugurate it, state BJP chief BY Vijayendra had stated.
