R Ashoka Accuses Karnataka Congress of Using ‘Dalit Identity’ to Defend B Nagendra
Senior BJP leader and Karnataka Assembly Leader of Opposition R Ashoka on Saturday, August 29, accused the Congress government in Karnataka of invoking 'Dalit identity' to defend former minister B Nagendra, who resigned amid allegations linked to the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam.
Nagendra resigned on Friday, August 28, after sustained protests by the BJP and JD(S), which had demanded his removal from the state Cabinet over the alleged diversion of around Rs 89 crore from the corporation.
Ashoka alleged that Nagendra resigned only after the Opposition presented documentary evidence concerning the case. He said the government had also failed to provide justice to P Chandrashekharan, the corporation’s accounts superintendent whose death in June 2024 brought the alleged financial irregularities to public attention.
“Chandrashekharan was also a Dalit,” Ashoka said, arguing that the official’s family had yet to receive the benefits and assistance allegedly promised to them, including pension, gratuity and a government job for his son.
Ashoka questioned the Congress’ portrayal of Nagendra as a victim after his resignation. Nagendra, who belongs to a Scheduled Tribe, had accused the Opposition of insulting him as a “Dalit” and said he did not want to cause embarrassment to his party or allow what he described as 'Manuwadis' to gain political ground.
Ashoka said Chandrashekharan’s death had helped bring the alleged diversion of funds to light and claimed the irregularities could otherwise have been concealed through adjustments in bills.
The BJP leader said he had presented 37 documents in the Assembly and before the media, including records relating to alleged fund transfers, Chandrashekharan’s purported death note, correspondence between banks and the corporation, and a forensic examination chart concerning phone conversations.
He questioned how money could allegedly have been transferred to around 600 bank accounts without the knowledge or involvement of the minister in charge. He also referred to the purported death note, which allegedly mentioned transfers made based on oral instructions from the minister.
Ashoka further alleged that correspondence sent to banks between March 4 and March 23 indicated that funds deposited with banks were allegedly being used to obtain loans of equivalent amounts.
The Opposition leader credited sustained protests by the BJP and JD(S), including eight days of demonstrations in the Assembly, with pressurizing the government to act.
“Nagendra did not resign for no reason,” Ashoka said, maintaining that the documents released by the Opposition had created the circumstances that led to the resignation.
Ashoka rejected the argument that Nagendra was being targeted because of his caste identity, saying allegations of wrongdoing should be examined through investigation and due legal process.
He also questioned why Nagendra had resigned from the ministerial post in 2024 when the allegations first emerged if the Congress now considered him a victim of political targeting.
At the same time, Ashoka said recovery of allegedly diverted funds could not by itself establish innocence or guilt, stressing that responsibility would ultimately have to be determined through investigation and judicial proceedings.
