BENGALURU: Upping the ante against Ballari Rural MLA and minister B Nagendra, senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Monday said that the former may have been made a minister because he threatened Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah.
Speaking to reporters, Ashoka said Nagendra faces serious allegations in the multi-crore Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam, and violated bail conditions by travelling to New Delhi. Ashoka said the investigation into Nagendra is still ongoing and that he is not fit to remain in the cabinet. “He may have been made a minister because he threatened former CM Siddaramaiah and CM DK Shivakumar.
The corporation’s money has been used by the Congress for elections. Details of where this money was used and where it was sent are available in the CBI investigation’s chargesheet. Everyone knows why he resigned. If a tainted person is re-inducted, the entire cabinet will be tainted,” Ashoka said.
Further, Ashoka said that the BJP, along with its alliance partner JDS, will continue to fight both inside and outside the House, seeking Nagendra’s ouster from the cabinet. “Along with JDS, we have launched a fight on various issues, including the Bidadi Township project, Nagendra issue, and KPSC scam. Instead of focusing on development, there is infighting among Congress leaders. They are only discussing portfolio allocation. Such a government should not be in power,’’ Ashoka said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra questioned whether the State Government has any respect for the country’s law and judicial system. “It was extremely concerning that a person facing serious allegations relating to the misuse of hundreds of crores of rupees allocated for the development of the ST community had been re-inducted to the state cabinet even before the investigation was completed,” he said.
He said that the Congress government must explain to the people of Karnataka what kind of pressure was exerted on the CM or the Congress high command for Nagendra to be inducted back into the cabinet. “There was also information that he had threatened to reveal several facts before the media if he was not inducted,” he said, demanding that Shivakumar remove Nagendra from the cabinet.
Vijayendra also said that the BJP will raise this issue inside the legislature and fight against the government. The BJP will not step back under any circumstances from protecting the rights of Scheduled Tribes and the funds allocated for their development, he added.
The BJP leaders also said that re-inducting Nagendra is an injustice to the Scheduled Tribes.