Bengaluru: With the Opposition BJP mounting pressure on ST Welfare Minister B Nagendra to resign, senior Congress ministers
G Parameshwara and Dr H C Mahadevappa defended him on Thursday.
However, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also Karnataka Congress president, said Nagendra will be “summoned” to explain himself.
Parameshwara, the home minister, said Nagendra’s case cannot be compared with with that of BJP’s K S Eshwarappa who had to resign from the Cabinet after a contractor died by suicide naming him in a death note.
“In Eshwarappa’s case, his name was clearly mentioned in the death note. But in Nagendra’s case, there is no mention of the name. Death note attributes it to a ‘minister’. So, the truth will emerge only after investigations are completed,” Parameshwara
said.
Parameshwara also pointed out that there are examples of suicide notes being written after the death of a person. However, he maintained that the CID would examine the note left behind by Chandrashekhar, the accounts officer at Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation Ltd.
Social Welfare Minister Mahadevappa said the government has not delayed ordering an investigation into the issue. “Without the completion of inquiry into the episode, what kind of action can be initiated? Without delaying, the government has suspended the officials, whose names have been mentioned in the death note. Once investigations are completed, the government can take further action,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shivakumar told reporters that Nagendra would be asked to explain.
“There is no question of sparing anyone involved in this case. This is not a small issue to ignore. The CM has taken this seriously,” he said.
However, Shivakumar said there is no direct allegation against Nagendra.
Protest by BJP ST morcha
Meanwhile, the members of the BJP Scheduled Tribe morcha tried to lay a siege to official residence and home office of the chief minister on Thursday. The police foiled the bid and detained the members. They raised slogans against ST Welfare Minister Nagendra.
A statement released by the Morcha said that the scam came to light after an official of the Corporation ended his life by suicide.