'Money meant for STs looted khatakhat': BJP mounts attack in Karnataka Assembly

Bengaluru: Karnataka Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka on Monday told the Assembly that embezzlement of taxpayers’ money at the Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation was “well-planned” with even Chief Minister Siddaramaiah admitting that Rs 89.62 crore was swindled.

Helming the Opposition’s rollicking of the Congress government, Ashoka said the “loot” of Rs 187 crore belonging to the Scheduled Tribes was unprecedented in Karnataka.

“There have been other scams, yes, with 2-10 per cent kickbacks. But such 100 per cent khatakhat loot is a blackspot,” Ashoka said.

Bellary MLA B Nagendra, who was ST Welfare Minister, is under ED custody in connection with the scam. Ashoka referred to media reports on Nagendra’s confession that the swindled money was used for election costs.

Siddaramaiah intervened and said, “It’s the ED remand application and not (Nagendra’s) confession. Also, (Ashoka) is saying Rs 187 crore was looted. No, the amount is Rs 89.62 crore.”

Narrating how the embezzlement was carried out at the Corporation, Ashoka said the Shangri-La hotel in Bengaluru was the headquarters for this scam. "Nagendra isn’t alone in this. He must have got a 20-25 per cent share only," he said.

Ashoka read out from the six-page death note of Corporation accounts officer P Chandrashekhar. “If it wasn’t for him, this scam wouldn’t have come out. He tried to save Rs 187 crore,” Ashoka said, referring to Chandrashekhar’s suicide. “It wasn't suicide. It was a government-sponsored murder. He was pressured,” Ashoka charged.

“The person who died was a Dalit. The ones who looted are Dalit. This government claims to be the champion of Dalits. How was Rs 187 crore transferred takatak?” Ashoka said.

Ashoka said the Rs 187 crore was “illegally” transferred from the Corporation’s Union Bank of India Vasanthnagar branch account to one on MG Road on March 4 this year. In 2023-24, the government gave the Corporation Rs 175 crore. The swindled money could have been used by ST people to construct homes, install borewells or start shops, he rued.

“When Chandrashekhar started resisting this illegality, the perpetrators of the scam created a character named Shivakumar as a junior accountant to oversee all transactions at the MG Road branch,” he said.

On March 30, Ashoka said a fixed deposit of Rs 50 crore was opened against which Rs 45 crore loan was raised on the same day. “Also on the same day, money was transferred to bank accounts in Telangana via RTGS,” he said.

Nagendra is innocent, says DKS

During the debate, Ashoka recalled Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s statement that former minister B Nagendra is not guilty of embezzlement at the Valmiki ST Development Corporation.

“Shivakumar has said Nagendra will come out clean and that he’s not guilty,” Ashoka said. “This was him sending out a message to the police. That’s what I feel.”

Shivakumar maintained his stance. “Even today, I’m on record...(Nagendra) hasn’t done anything wrong. I asked him about the case. I even asked him to confess if there was something wrong. He resigned on his own. Let the inquiry finish,” he said.