Bengaluru, Aug 29 (PTI) Senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Saturday accused the Congress government in Karnataka of using the issue of “Dalit identity” to defend B Nagendra, who has since resigned, and alleged that the minister stepped down only after the Opposition produced documentary evidence in the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam.
Nagendra had resigned on Friday following the opposition’s unrelenting protests demanding his removal from the state cabinet over the alleged Rs 89 crore Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.
Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly said the government had failed to provide justice to P Chandrashekharan, the corporation accounts superintendent whose death in June 2024 brought the alleged irregularities to light.
He also questioned why Nagendra was being portrayed as the victim after resigning from the Cabinet.
Under mounting pressure, especially from the opposition BJP-JD(S), Nagendra resigned, while blaming them for insulting a ‘Dalit’. He also said he did not wish to embarrass his party and allow ‘Manuwadis’ to gain an upper hand.
Although Nagendra is a Scheduled Tribe, the word ‘Dalit’ is used in a larger sense in Karnataka, especially by politicians, to refer to downtrodden communities.
“P Chandrasekharan was also a Dalit, who died by suicide exposing the scam. You are not giving justice to him. There is no justice for his family. His children have been left on the streets,” Ashoka charged.
He claimed that Chandrashekharan’s death had brought the alleged diversion of funds to light and said the matter could otherwise have been suppressed through bill adjustments.
He also questioned the government’s failure to provide the deceased official’s family pension, gratuity and the promised government job for his son.
Ashoka said he had released 37 documents in the Assembly and before the media, including documents relating to the alleged transfers, the deceased official’s note, bank correspondence and a forensic examination chart concerning phone conversations.
He questioned how funds could have been transferred to around 600 accounts without the knowledge or involvement of the minister in charge, and cited the purported death note’s reference to transfers allegedly made on the basis of the minister’s oral instructions.
Ashoka further alleged that official letters sent to banks between March 4 and March 23 showed an arrangement under which funds deposited with banks were allegedly used to obtain loans of equivalent amounts.
He said the Opposition’s sustained protest in the Assembly, including eight days of demonstrations by BJP and JD(S) members, had forced the government to act.
“Nagendra did not resign for no reason. We released all the documents, clear and certified documents, and created a situation in which he had to resign. That is why he resigned,” Ashoka said.
Rejecting the Congress’ argument that Nagendra was being targeted because he was a ‘Dalit’, Ashoka said caste identity could not be used as a shield against allegations of wrongdoing.
Ashoka also questioned why Nagendra had been removed earlier (in 2024, when Nagendra resigned over the same issue) when the allegations first surfaced. If he was now being described as innocent, he demanded to know why the Congress leadership had not mounted a similar defence at that time.
The BJP leader said recovery of allegedly diverted money could not by itself establish innocence, arguing that guilt had to be determined through investigation and judicial proceedings. PTI GMS SA
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