Alleging the Congress government's involvement in the Rs 187 crore tribal welfare scam and demanding action, the BJP in Karnataka protested and tried to gherao the offices of District Commissioners (DC) across the state on Friday, June 28.
The state police department erected barricades and deployed additional forces on the premises to prevent BJP workers from entering the DC offices.
BJP workers marched towards the DC offices in all districts, including in the capital city, Bengaluru. In Chikkamagaluru, the police detained BJP workers who jumped barricades and tried to enter the office.
BJP state president BY Vijayendra, speaking to the media in Bengaluru, stated, “The agitation regarding the tribal welfare board will continue. Minister B Nagendra has resigned; however, the story won’t end here. The Chief Minister is trying to blame the officer and hush up the case. The BJP workers will lay siege to DC offices all over the state. The farmers are fed up with inflation. The prices of petrol, diesel, and milk have been hiked.”
Vijayendra added, "It was uncertain how long Siddaramaiah would continue as the CM. To undermine DyCM DK Shivakumar, the issue of creating more DyCM posts was brought to the forefront. Now, it is costing CM Siddaramaiah dearly. They are busy in their politics. They don't care about people. When discussing inflation, the ministers are speaking lightly. The people have become wary of the Congress government's governance, and trust in the Congress party has diminished."
He further said that one of the accused in the tribal welfare scam, Satyanarayana Varma, had stated in court that he was being threatened by the close aides of former minister Nagendra. "It is a serious charge. However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has not dared to question Nagendra to date."
The BJP Farmers’ Morcha will stage a protest on Saturday regarding the milk price revision.
"The government has lost trust in just one year after coming to power. One of the Swamiji has asked CM Siddaramaiah to vacate the CM post for DyCM Shivakumar. People are wondering whether the government is functioning effectively. Before the election, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar were displaying fond gestures towards each other. Now, they are at odds. There is a probability of street fights in the state. We have to wait and watch how things unfold,” Vijayendra said.
The scam in the corporation came to light following the suicide of Chandrashekaran (50), who was working as an Account Superintendent in the Tribal Welfare Board. He was allegedly pressured to move large sums of money to various illegal accounts. It was alleged that the funds were diverted to Hyderabad to be used by the Congress for the Lok Sabha election in Telangana and other states.
The Congress, however, has denied all the allegations.