BJP holds state-wide protest in Karnataka over "Valmiki" scam, demands CM's resignation
Bengaluru, Jun 28: Karnataka BJP on Thursday held a state-wide protest against the Congress government over alleged illegal money transfer scam involving a state-run corporation, and demanded Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's resignation.
BJP workers and leaders held demonstrations in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office in almost all districts in the state, party sources said.
The party's state President B Y Vijayendra took part in the demonstration held in the district headquarters town of Chitradurga.
As Vijayendra and other leaders tried to march towards the Deputy Commissioner's office there, police detained them and whisked them away in a bus.
There are reports of similar protests from various parts of the state including Belagavi, Mandya and Mangaluru.
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Vijayendra alleged that the government is trying to cover up the scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
"There are death threats to officials and those who want to expose the government's scams. Congress government has done a daylight robbery of funds that were kept for the Valmiki and other ST communities, and thereby it has done injustice to those communities," he said.
Speaking to reporters as he was being whisked away in the bus, he said, "(Medical Education) Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, Valmiki Corporation's Chairman Basanagouda Daddal will have to resign. Not only that, the Chief Minister holds the Finance portfolio, without coming to his notice such a big scam would not have happened. Allegations have surfaced that the money was utilised for the election, so the Chief Minister has to resign."
The illegal money transfer issue, involving the Corporation, came to light, after its accounts superintendent, Chandrashekhar P, died by suicide on May 26, leaving behind a death note.
The note claimed unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the Corporation from its bank account, and from that, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally moved to various accounts allegedly belonging to "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank among others.
Chandrashekhar has named the Corporation's now-suspended Managing Director J G Padmanabh, accounts officer Parashuram G Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India Chief Manager Suchismita Rawal in the note, while also stating that the "Minister" had issued oral orders for transferring the funds.
Following allegations against him in connection with the scam, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra tendered his resignation on June 6.
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said the BJP will press for Siddaramaiah's resignation during the upcoming Assembly session.
"Nagendra's share in this scam was only 20 per cent, 80 per cent loot was by Siddaramaiah and gang.......we will not stop our fight for any reason, it will continue. One wicket has fallen (Minister resign), three or more will follow. People know this is a corrupt government," he said in the district headquarters town of Kolar.
BJP leader and MLC C T Ravi said despite allegations that Rs 187 crore has been credited to a number of fake accounts, till now the department has recovered only Rs 14 crore.
"What action has been taken against fake account holders, has money been recovered? For none of these, SIT has answers. As the Finance department is with the CM, Siddaramaiah should take moral responsibility, as this is a big scam within the jurisdiction of his department....we are demanding -- CM has to resign taking moral responsibility," he said here.
The state government has constituted an SIT headed by Manish Kharbikar, Additional Director General of Police, Economic Offences, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) here, to conduct the probe.
Mumbai-headquartered Union Bank of India had also filed a complaint with the CBI in connection with embezzlement of money belonging to the Corporation involving its MG Road branch, following which the premier investigation agency had initiated a probe.
"ಭ್ರಷ್ಟ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಧಿಕ್ಕಾರ"
— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) June 28, 2024
ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನ ವಿರೋಧಿ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ರಾಜ್ಯಾದ್ಯಂತ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಕೇಂದ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಬೃಹತ್ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದು, ಇಂದು ಚಿತ್ರದುರ್ಗದ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಕಚೇರಿಗಳ ಎದುರು ಬೃಹತ್ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಸಲಾಯಿತು. ಎಸ್.ಟಿ ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಶ್ರೇಯೋಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಗೆ ಮೀಸಲಿದ್ದ ಮಹರ್ಷಿ… pic.twitter.com/OpLXl6MdY0
ಜನ ವಿರೋಧಿ ಭ್ರಷ್ಟ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಧಿಕ್ಕಾರ...
— R. Ashoka (ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬ) (@RAshokaBJP) June 28, 2024
ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ನಿಗಮ ಹಗರಣ, ಹಾಲು ಉತ್ಪಾದಕರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹ ಧನ ಸ್ಥಗಿತ ಮತ್ತು ಅಗತ್ಯ ವಸ್ತುಗಳ ಬೆಲೆಯೇರಿಕೆ ಖಂಡಿಸಿ, ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಜನತಾದಳದ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಕೋಲಾರ ಜಿಲ್ಲಾಧಿಕಾರಿ ಕಚೇರಿ ಮುಂಭಾಗ ಬೃಹತ್ ಪ್ರತಿಭಟನೆ ನಡೆಸಲಾಯಿತು.
ಈ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಉಭಯ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳ ಮುಖಂಡರು,… pic.twitter.com/sVFqptmWPF
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Youths, relying on Google Maps, drive vehicle into river in Kasaragod; rescued
Kasaragod: Two youths, who were on their way to a hospital using Google Maps to find their way, drove their car into a swollen river but had a miraculous escape as the vehicle got stuck to a tree in Kerala's northernmost Kasaragod district.
The visuals of Fire Force personnel pulling them to safety from the overflowing river in Pallanchi here the other day went viral on social media platforms on Sunday.
They could escape and contact the Fire Force personnel only because their vehicle, which was carried away by the water currents, got stuck in a tree.
The rescued youths said they were on their way to a hospital in neighbouring Karnataka in the wee hours the other day and were proceeding using Google Maps.
Abdul Rasheed, one of the youths, said Google Maps showed a narrow road and they drove their car through it.
"Using the vehicle's headlight, we felt that there was some water in front of us. But, we didn't see that there was a river on both sides and a bridge in the middle. There was also no sidewall for the bridge," he told a TV channel.
The car suddenly began to get carried away in the water currents but later got stuck in a tree on the shores of the river.
By this time, they managed to open the car door, come out of the vehicle and contacted the Fire Force personnel by sending them the location.
Later, Fire Force personnel rushed to the place and pulled out the two men to safety using ropes.
"We never thought that we could come back to life. We truly feel that it is a rebirth," Rasheed added.
Last month, a group of tourists from Hyderabad drove into a swollen stream near Kuruppanthara in Kottayam apparently after using Google Maps.
All four managed to escape unharmed due to the efforts of a nearby police patrol unit and local residents, but their vehicle was completely submerged.
Two #Kanhangad natives had a narrow escape on the #Pallanchi Forest road in #Kasaragod's #Kuttikol after their car fell into a river early morning on Thursday.
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) June 27, 2024
The passengers M Abdul Rashid (35) and A Thashreef (36) said they met with the accident at 6 AM while heading towards a… pic.twitter.com/SMmJ58UBq3
