Bengaluru

ChiefMinister D K Shivakumar on Friday challenged the BJP and JD(S) to formally seek a discussion in the Legislature on the demand for the resignation of Minister B Nagendra, saying there was no justification for disrupting proceedings without giving notice.

BJP has been staging demonstrations inside and outside of both the Houses of Karnataka Legislature demanding removal of Planning and Statistics Minister Nagendra alleging his involvement in the Karnataka State Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam worth Rs 89 crore, which had happened in 2024.

Speaking in the Legislative Council, Shivakumar said the opposition was entitled to protest in a democracy but should follow parliamentary procedures and place its allegations before the House.

He recalled that Nagendra had earlier resigned to facilitate an inquiry and that the government had subsequently conducted an investigation.

Questioning the basis of the renewed demand for resignation, the Chief Minister asked what fresh information the opposition had uncovered and urged it to disclose before the House any findings allegedly obtained from agencies such as the CBI, Enforcement Directorate and SIT.

He said the government was prepared to devote an entire day, or even two days, to a discussion on the issue if the opposition submitted a notice. Shivakumar also said he was ready to explain the reasons behind reinducting Nagendra into the Cabinet and answer all questions raised by the opposition.

The Chief Minister criticised allegations made against Nagendra and the government without a formal debate, saying it was unreasonable to brand the minister or the government as corrupt without first discussing the matter in the Legislature.

In a swipe at BJP members, Shivakumar said opposition leaders might be uncomfortable if he began naming Union and state ministers against whom cases had been registered in the past and explaining how those investigations had proceeded, reiterating his call for a structured debate on the issue.