Bengaluru, 5 August

Congress' Raichur Rural MLA Basanagouda Daddal resigned on Wednesday as the Chairman of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, after B Nagendra secured a Cabinet berth earlier this week. 

Daddal, in his letter to the Chief Minister, said that he is resigning “voluntarily”, and urged , DK Shivakumar to accept his resignation immediately. 

However, Nagendra has been charged and is out on bail over the Rs 89 crore Valmiki Tribes Development Corporation scam. He had resigned as the minister for tribal welfare in 2024 over the scandal that broke, but was among the 19 ministers who took oath on Monday. 

The scam came to light after the corporation’s accounts superintendent, P Chandrasekharan, died by suicide, alleging that he was subjected to extreme torture to facilitate the scam.

It is alleged that Rs 187 crore was pooled into KMVSTDCL’s Union Bank of India account by its managing director and accounts officer.

Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, announced that the BJP would launch a state-wide agitation if Nagendra was not dropped from the Cabinet and warned that the party would not allow the Assembly session beginning 13 August to function without his resignation.