Valmiki corporation scam: BJP ups ante for Minister’s resignation
The Hindu
As speculation over the continuation of Minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare B. Nagendra in the Cabinet persisted, with the demand for his resignation raised by the BJP in connection with the ₹94 crore scam at the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, his Cabinet colleagues came to his defence on Thursday.
As speculation over the continuation of Minister for Scheduled Tribes Welfare B. Nagendra in the Cabinet persisted, with the demand for his resignation raised by the BJP in connection with the ₹94 crore scam at the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, his Cabinet colleagues came to his defence on Thursday.
The BJP workers staged a dharna in front of the Chief Minister’s residence here seeking the Minister’s resignation.
The scam became public after Accounts Superintendent of the corporation P. Chandrashekaran ended his life at his residence in Shivamogga on Sunday.
He had named the now suspended corporation managing director J.G. Padmanabh and accounts officer Parashuram G. Durugannanavar, besides United Bank of India (UBI), M.G. Road branch chief manager Suchismita Raul to be part of the scam.
It is alleged that of the about ₹187.33 crore deposited in the UBI, about ₹94 crore had been moved to 14 accounts belonging to IT companies in Ratnakar Bank and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank using forged signatures and documents. The BJP has been saying that the money had been moved to unauthorised accounts based on “oral instructions from the Minister”.
Home Minister G. Parameshwara admitted that there was a reference in the death note to the Minister’s alleged “oral instructions”, but nothing could be said about it until investigation was completed.
“The investigation will cover charges that money was transferred to bank accounts of IT firms,” he said. The Home Minister visited the house of the deceased in Shivamogga. He promised that those responsible for his death would be dealt with firmly.
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