Bengaluru: BJP leaders trying to lay siege to Vidhana Soudha over Valmiki scam detained

Holding placards, banners and posters, the BJP workers raised slogans against the Congress government charging it with indulging in large-scale corruption.

BJP leaders, including the party's Karnataka unit President B Y Vijayendra, were detained when they tried to lay siege to 'Vidhana Soudha' here on Thursday demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd.

Police personnel stop BJP workers protesting over the alleged scam in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.(PTI)

READ | Bengaluru metro update: Yellow Line to open in December with 8 trains and 15-minute intervals - Report

Holding placards, banners and posters, the BJP legislators and workers raised slogans against the Congress government charging it with indulging in large-scale corruption. The party leaders alleged that the "anti-Dalit and anti-tribal face" of the Congress has been exposed after the scam came to light.

"The Chief Minister has lost the moral right to continue in office. Our protest will continue till he resigns," Vijayendra told reporters as he was taken into preventive custody near 'Vidhana Soudha', the seat of state legislature and secretariat, where the monsoon session was underway. He also referred to the statement of the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the scam, on Wednesday that approximately ₹90 crore was diverted from the state-run Corporation to 18 fake accounts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

READ | Actress Gauahar Khan condemns Bengaluru mall for denying entry to farmer wearing dhoti

"A substantial amount of funds were utilised to procure a significant quantity of liquor just prior to the general elections. Additionally, high-end vehicles, including a Lamborghini, were purchased using proceeds of the scam," the federal probe agency said.

READ | 'Global tech giants aren't here for our dosas': Founder slams Kannadiga reservation bill, says he is eyeing Chennai

The ED arrested former Minister B Nagendra last week in connection with the scam. During search operations at the premises of Nagendra and Basanagouda Daddal, the Chairperson of the Corporation and Raichur Rural Congress MLA, the ED said it recovered incriminating documents linking them to the handling of diverted funds during the recent elections. Additionally, associates closely connected to Nagendra were implicated in the fund diversion and cash management, the agency said.