Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka held a protest Friday against the Opposition for disrupting the ongoing Monsoon session of the state legislature, accusing the latter of derailing the debate on the drought. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition party in the state also protested, demanding the resignation of Cabinet Minister B. Nagendra, accusing him of siphoning off crores of rupees from funds meant for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes.
B. K. Hariprasad, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said the BJP’s protests were to shield the Union government which is yet to act on the state’s request for funds to mitigate one of the worst droughts faced by the southern state.
“We are ready to discuss these allegations inside the house. If they discuss it we will give them an answer. This (disruption) is nothing but a conspiracy that their great leader, Vishwaguru, Vish guru (poisonous guru) and tadipar Amit Shah, to protect them, are not allowing this house to function,” Hariprasad said.
The ruling party’s protests in Karnataka followed criticism from the Congress of the Modi-led BJP government for agitating outside Parliament despite being in power.
Since the monsoon session began 13 August, the BJP and its ally, Janata Dal (Secular), have been relentlessly demanding Nagendra’s removal.
Nagendra, who served at the time as minister for ST welfare, has been accused of siphoning off crores of rupees meant for tribal welfare. He stepped down “voluntarily” in June 2024.
Then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that there was financial misappropriation but that it was only of Rs 89.6 crore. The government has since maintained that nearly Rs 80 crore has been recovered.
Despite the allegations, Nagendra’s induction into the D. K. Shivakumar-led cabinet on 3 August provided the Opposition with more ammunition to corner the Congress-led government.
He has been allotted the Planning, Monitoring and Statistics department.
The scam
The BJP and JD(S) legislators wore black t-shirts with ‘Rs 187 crore looted by Nagendra’ printed on them while protesting inside the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.
“Instead of responding to the serious allegations of multi-crore irregularities in the Valmiki Development Corporation, the Congress government has stepped forward to protect Minister B. Nagendra, who is facing corruption charges,” R. Ashoka said.
He added that to shield one minister, the Congress had trampled on the Opposition and its demands.
The alleged scandal came to light after P. Chandrashekaran, working as an accounts superintendent at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC), died by suicide 26 May 2024 in Shivamogga district, leaving behind a six-page death note in Kannada purportedly written by him.
It named senior officials of the corporation as well as Union Bank officials for alleged embezzlement of funds from the corporation.
Nagendra was granted bail after spending around three months in jail after multiple cases were lodged against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The money was allegedly used to fund elections.
On 2 February, the CBI said it had completed the investigation into misappropriation of funds and filed a charge sheet the same day.
In its statement, CBI said it has “unearthed a meticulously planned conspiracy” involving Nagendra and his close associates, Nekkanti Nagaraj and Padmnabha J. G, the chief of the Valmiki corporation at the time. Satyanarayana Varma of Hyderabad, who earlier allegedly executed a similar fraud in Chhattisgarh, played a crucial role in executing the scam, the CBI said.
“Forged rubber seals/stamps of the MD and AO of KMVSTDCL were fabricated through a graphic designer in Hyderabad and used to execute fraudulent banking transactions. Approximately Rs 187 crore were pooled into KMVSTDCL’s UBI account by the MD and AO. A sum of Rs 89.63 crore was fraudulently diverted through forged cheques and RTGS transactions and the diverted funds were further layered through approximately 600 bank accounts and ultimately converted into cash, bullion, and luxury vehicles for the benefit of the accused,” CBI said in its statement.
The agency added that in 2023-24, tenders worth Rs 13.95 crore for smart computer labs and roti making machines were awarded by the ST Welfare Department to SKR Infrastructure, which was run by K. Srinivas Reddy who is closely connected to Nekkanti Nagaraj.
“Investigation has established that B. Nagendra, minister, received illegal gratification of Rs 1.20 crore through Nagaraj, routed into the accounts of the minister’s sister, brother-in-law, personal assistant, and a farmhouse owner at Bellary. Nagaraj himself received Rs 5.72 crore from SKR Infrastructure and its sister concerns,” according to the CBI. The agency added the probe unearthed other scams.
The CBI investigation has established the role of 30 persons including the former minister Nagendra, his close associate Nekkanti Nagaraj, officials of KMVSTDCL, state government officials, officials of UBI (M.G. Road Branch) and IOB (Kukatpally, Hyderabad), and various private individuals and middlemen.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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