Oppn disrupts Assembly over demand for minister’s removal
Bengaluru The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) disrupted proceedings in both Houses of the Karnataka legislature on Monday demanding the dismissal of minister B Nagendra, over his alleged involvement in the multi crore rupee embezzlement matter in the Karnataka Maharishi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) and the killing of three suspected poachers…
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) prevented Karnataka legislature sessions from proceeding on Monday, as they demanded the removal of minister B Nagendra. Allegations of his involvement in a multi-crore rupee embezzlement case and the killing of three suspected poachers in Hanur taluk, Chamarajanagar district, were the reasons for the disruption.
Leader of the opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka, and his colleague V Sunil Kumar stated they would not permit proceedings to continue until Nagendra was dismissed. Ashoka questioned how they could participate when "a corrupt minister is sitting here." Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byregowda accused the opposition of seeking to cover up internal party disagreements.
Nagendra joined the chief minister DK Shivakumar's cabinet on August 3 and oversees planning and statistics. He had resigned from the Siddaramaiah cabinet in June 2024 after allegations of misappropriating ₹94.73 crore in funds. The scam came to light after the suicide of P Chandrashekaran, an accounts superintendent at KMVSTDC, who left a death note naming senior officials and bank officials responsible for embezzlement.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI had arrested Nagendra in July 2024 and granted him bail in October of the same year. He is named in the chargesheet for the case. When the opposition continued to demand Nagendra’s resignation, citing that the alleged misappropriated funds were used for his Ballari Assembly elections in 2023 and given to the Congress high command, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara asked the opposition to prove the funds were spent during the elections.
In response to the killing of three suspected poachers in Hanur taluk, the BJP and JD(S) pushed for a judicial probe, insisting that forest minister Ramalinga Reddy be held morally accountable. They demanded ₹1 crore each for the families of the deceased, whom they claimed were "murdered" by the forest department personnel. Opponents questioned why local farmers supported the deceased and why the Karnataka government did not respond to Tamil Nadu's condemnation of the incident.
After two adjournments, the speaker decided to continue with the business as the opposition shouted slogans from the well of the House.
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