BJP leaders B Y Vijayendra, R Ashoka and several others were taken into preventive custody on Monday as they marched towards Vidhana Soudha to demand the removal of Minister B Nagendra from the Karnataka Cabinet over his alleged involvement in the Valmiki Corporation scam.
The BJP and its ally JD(S) mobilised a large number of workers for the protest, with party workers arriving from various parts of Bengaluru and other areas.
Police barricaded Vidhana Soudha and deployed personnel at its gates to prevent protesters from entering the premises. Protesters led by BJP leaders, including MLC N Ravikumar and C T Ravi, attempted to move towards the Vidhana Soudha through the Vikas Soudha gate, resulting in pushing and jostling with police. Several protesters were detained, while a BMTC bus was kept ready to transport those taken into custody.
The BJP also held a parallel protest at Freedom Park under the leadership of Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy. Party leaders and workers raised slogans against the Congress government and demanded Nagendra’s resignation.
The BJP has maintained that Nagendra, who resigned as minister in 2024 following alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Corporation Ltd, should not have been re-inducted into the Cabinet.
The alleged scam came to light after funds belonging to the Corporation were allegedly transferred to various bank accounts. The matter gained wider attention following the suicide of the Corporation’s accounts superintendent, P Chandrasekharan, and the recovery of a note.
The CBI subsequently investigated the case and filed a charge sheet in which Nagendra’s name was mentioned. The BJP has cited the charge sheet and a communication from the CBI to the Governor to demand his removal from the Cabinet.
Nagendra had earlier resigned as minister amid the controversy. He was later re-inducted into the Cabinet after D K Shivakumar became Chief Minister.
Addressing protesters, Vijayendra accused the Congress government of trying to suppress the BJP’s agitation and hit back at Shivakumar for describing the protesters as “goondas”.
“Today, the BJP and JD(S) are fighting as the voice of the Dalits and those who have no voice. At such a time, they are trying to suppress our agitation,” Vijayendra said.
Referring to Shivakumar’s statement calling the opposition “hooligans”, Vijayendra said, “Shivakumar, you are the hooligan. No one needs to teach us what hooliganism is. Today, you are trying to suppress our protest.”
BJP MLC N Ravikumar alleged that the investigation had revealed that huge sums were spent during elections.
“I said Rs 20 crore was spent for the Lok Sabha election. We spent Rs 180 crore on people’s elections. These are facts that have emerged from the investigation,” he said.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka demanded Nagendra’s resignation and questioned his re-induction into the Cabinet.
“If he has any dignity and honour, he should come and resign. He should explain whether the Dalits were cheated or not, why he was arrested and why he was dismissed,” Ashoka said.
“Instead, they are giving him bonus after bonus. You have all shared the money, and we will not let him off,” he added.
The BJP leaders accused the government of protecting those facing corruption allegations and said the agitation would continue until Nagendra was removed from the Cabinet.
(With inputs from PTI)
