Bengaluru, 18 July

BJP leaders, including the party's unit President BY Vijayendra, were detained when they tried to lay siege to 'Vidhana Soudha' here on Thursday. They demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd.

Holding placards, banners and posters, the BJP legislators and workers raised slogans against Congress charging it with indulging in large-scale corruption.

They alleged that the "anti-Dalit and anti-tribal face" of the Congress has been exposed after the scam came to light.

"The Chief Minister has lost the moral right to continue in office. Our protest will continue till he resigns," Vijayendra told reporters as he was taken into preventive custody near 'Vidhana Soudha', the seat of state legislature and secretariat, where the monsoon session was underway.

He also referred to the statement of Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the scam, on Wednesday that approximately Rs 90 crore was diverted from the state-run Corporation to 18 fake accounts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

"A substantial amount of funds were utilised to procure a significant quantity of liquor just prior to the general elections. Additionally, high-end vehicles, including a Lamborghini, were purchased using proceeds of the scam," the federal probe agency said.

The ED arrested former Minister B Nagendra last week in the scam. -PTI