Terming the CID as “Congress Investigation Department”, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka on Thursday demanded the resignation of ST Welfare Minister B Nagendra over “embezzlement” of public money at a state-run corporation. He warned that the BJP would launch statewide agitation if the minister was not dropped from the Cabinet before June 6.
Addressing a joint press conference with BJP leaders C T Ravi, Lehar Singh Siroya and Govind Karjol at the party state office, Ashoka said that the state government must hand over the case to central agencies as this only involves embezzlement of huge sums but also led to a suicide of a government official unable to bear the “pressure of a minister’s demand.”
“This not a suicide and it is clear case of murder. So, the state government must book the minister under murder charges. The CID, which is probing cannot do justice on this matter. It will only work to give clean chit to Congress leaders who get involved in such large-scale corruption,” he alleged.
Ashoka further charged that the death note clearly names officials who harassed the victim and it also states that a large scam took place in the corporation “on minister’s oral instructions.’”
“This is a clear indictment of Nagendra’s involvement. Such a large-scale scam could not be carried out without the support of the entire Cabinet and chief minister himself. Therefore, it is better for the CM also to resign over this scam which happened under his eyes,” he said.
Ashoka alleged that the embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs 197 crore from the Maharishi Valmiki Development Corporation proves that the Congress has come to power to siphon off funds allocated to downtrodden, Dalits and tribals in the state.
Fit case for CBI probe, says Bommai
Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that hundreds of crores of rupees have been transferred from Valimik Development Corporation to a cooperative bank in Hyderabad and therefore, it is a fit case to be probed by the CBI, reports DHNS from Hosapete in Vijayanagar district.
Speaking to reporters in Hosapete, Bommai said that according to rules any case involving misuse of more than Rs 10 crore should be probed only by the CBI. “This money could have been used for the elections,” he said.
He said that K S Eshwarappa was not at fault in the case of death of a contractor and still he resigned owning moral responsibility. “But, in this case, the death note refers oral instruction of the minister twice. No more evidence is required. Minister Nagendra should resign from the post,” he
said.