Karnataka Assembly adjourned as Opposition protests Minister Nagendra's Cabinet stay in Valmiki scam case

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly witnessed major disruptions on August 17, with the Opposition BJP and JD(S) demanding the dismissal of Minister B. Nagendra from the Cabinet over his alleged involvement in a multi-crore rupee embezzlement case in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. The House was eventually adjourned at 1 p.m. as the Opposition refused to relent despite repeated appeals from the Speaker.

As soon as Speaker G.S. Patil called for Question Hour, Leader of Opposition R. Ashok and BJP member V. Sunil Kumar raised the issue, demanding that Mr. Nagendra be dropped from the Cabinet. “How can we participate in Question Hour when a corrupt Minister is sitting here,” Mr. Ashok asked.

Declaring that the Opposition would not allow the House to function until Mr. Nagendra was removed, Mr. Ashok said, “The Chief Minister should immediately remove him from the Cabinet.” The BJP had earlier announced that it would disrupt the monsoon session unless Mr. Nagendra was dismissed.

Mr. Nagendra currently holds the Planning and Statistics portfolio. He had resigned from the previous Siddaramaiah Cabinet in June 2024 following allegations of large-scale misappropriation of funds in the Valmiki Corporation. However, he was inducted into the D.K. Shivakumar-led Cabinet on August 3, triggering strong reactions from the Opposition.

“When Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, he had accepted Nagendra's resignation. Why has he been inducted into the Cabinet now,” Mr. Ashok asked during the proceedings.

In response, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda alleged that the Opposition was wasting the time of the House by raising the demand without giving prior notice to the Speaker. He further alleged that BJP members had raised the issue to hush up internal differences in their own party.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Mr. Nagendra in connection with the Valmiki Corporation case in July 2024. A special court in Bengaluru granted him bail in October that year. The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have subsequently named Mr. Nagendra in their respective chargesheets in the case. Both agencies are continuing their investigations into the alleged fraud, which pertains to the misappropriation of funds meant for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes in the state.

The Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation is a state government body tasked with implementing various welfare schemes for the tribal community. The alleged scam involves large-scale embezzlement of funds from the corporation, leading to multiple probes by central agencies.

During the protest, BJP members staged a demonstration in the House and continued raising slogans despite repeated appeals by the Speaker to allow Question Hour to proceed. With the Opposition refusing to relent, Mr. Patil adjourned the House at 1 p.m.

The development marks the latest flashpoint between the ruling Congress government and the Opposition in Karnataka, with the Valmiki Corporation case emerging as a major political issue. The Opposition has accused the government of protecting Mr. Nagendra by re-inducting him into the Cabinet, while the ruling side maintains that the legal process should be allowed to take its course.