NEW DELHI: Karnataka planning and statistics minister B Nagendra resigned from the state cabinet on Friday amid mounting pressure over the alleged Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.He also broke down during a press conference while announcing his decision.Nagendra stepped down within 25 days of assuming office after being re-inducted into the cabinet on August 3. He said he had tendered his resignation to chief minister D K Shivakumar.“Today I am voluntarily tendering my resignation as the minister,” an emotional Nagendra told reporters.He said he had taken the decision with a heavy heart to ensure that the party leadership was not embarrassed.Nagendra alleged that he was being targeted as part of a conspiracy and said the BJP could not intimidate him through central investigating agencies.“They (BJP) can’t scare me with ED, CBI,” Nagendra said.He also alleged that “Manuwadis”, in an apparent reference to the BJP, were targeting him because they did not want a tribal person in the country to grow.“Manuwadis targeted me as they didn’t want a tribal person in the country to grow,” he alleged.Nagendra also challenged the BJP to defeat him in Ballari in the “court of public opinion”. He said he was prepared to resign as an MLA and face elections if the BJP was ready to take him on.The resignation marks the second time Nagendra has stepped down from the cabinet over the controversy. He had earlier resigned as tribal welfare minister in June 2024 when the issue first surfaced.
Pressure after cabinet re-induction
Nagendra was re-inducted into the Karnataka cabinet on August 3 and given the planning and statistics portfolio. His return triggered fresh demands from the BJP and JD(S) for his removal over the alleged diversion of funds from the state-run corporation.Earlier on Friday, Nagendra had said he would meet chief minister D K Shivakumar and discuss the matter in detail.“If a situation arises where my actions cause embarrassment to the party, then I will…” he had said, alleging that the developments were part of a “conspiracy”.The opposition BJP and JD(S) had been protesting his re-induction into the cabinet and alleging his involvement in the alleged Rs 89 crore scam.The two parties had also staged repeated protests inside and outside the Karnataka legislature during the recent monsoon session, which was curtailed by three days and adjourned sine die on August 24 amid continued disruptions.The BJP and JD(S) had planned a foot march from Raichur to Ballari from September 1 to 10, demanding Nagendra’s resignation.
What is the Valmiki Corporation case?
The controversy dates back to May 2024, when P Chandrasekharan, then an accounts superintendent with the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, died by suicide and left behind a six-page note alleging irregularities and unauthorised transfers of corporation funds.
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Subsequent investigations found that Rs 89.63 crore had been transferred from a corporation account to a Union Bank of India account and later moved to multiple other accounts, triggering a major political controversy.Nagendra, who was tribal welfare minister when the issue surfaced, resigned from the cabinet in June 2024.He had previously rejected reports that he would resign and maintained that the allegations against him were “politically motivated”. Just two days ago, he had dismissed media reports claiming that he had offered to step down.His resignation on Friday came amid renewed political pressure on the Congress government over the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam.
