Bengaluru: Karnataka Scheduled Tribe Welfare Minister B Nagendra has resigned from the post of minister in the wake of allegations of malpractice in the Valmiki Development Corporation.
He submitted his resignation to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Earlier in the day, Nagendra held a press conference at Vidhana Souda here and informed about his decision.
"Opposition parties are slandering the Congress regarding the illegality. I am resigning voluntarily. I am resigning out of conscience without pressure from anyone. No pressure was put on me when I discussed with the Chief Minister," Nagendra had said in the press conference.
"I am resigning because I do not want to embarrass anyone. The Chief Minister is running the administration brilliantly. I am resigning so that there should not be any problem. The Special Investigation Team is investigating the case. I am resigning because there will be a problem if I am in the ministerial position while the investigation is going on," added Nagendra.
"The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister (DK Shivakumar) have said that I should not resign. No pressure has been put on me. The officer who committed suicide has not mentioned my name. After the investigation is over and the facts come to the fore, I will become a minister again," he said.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said "Minister B. Nagendra has decided to voluntarily resign from the post because the dignity of the party and the government should not be compromised."
"I have discussed with Nagendra. He is not involved in this illegality. So there was no need for him to resign. But Nagendra himself has decided to resign because he does not want to harm the dignity of the party and the government," Shivkumar told reporters here.
Asked if the government will accept the resignation, he replied, "The Chief Minister will discuss with the party high command and take a decision."
Seeking to mount pressure on the Congress government, the opposition BJP staged a protest march from Vidhana Soudha to Raj Bhavan and petitioned Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot demanding Nagendra's resignation.
The illegal money transfer issue, involving Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd, came to light, after its accounts superintendent, Chandrashekhar P, died by suicide on May 26, leaving behind a death note.
The note revealed the unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the state-run Corporation from its bank account, and from that, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally moved to various accounts allegedly belonging to "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank.
Chandrashekhar has named the Corporation's now-suspended Managing Director J G Padmanabh, accounts officer Parashuram G Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India Chief Manager Suchismita Rawal in the note, while also stating that the "Minister" had issued oral orders for transferring the funds.
Mumbai-headquartered Union Bank of India last week filed a formal complaint with the CBI in connection with embezzlement of money belonging to the Corporation involving its MG Road branch. It had also suspended three officials. The Corporation had filed an FIR against top Union Bank of India officials with the police, over embezzlement of Rs 88 crore.
The state government last week constituted an SIT headed by Manish Kharbikar, Additional Director General of Police, Economic Offences, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) here, to conduct the probe.
