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Karnataka minister B Nagendra resigns from cabinet, as MLA amid financial irregularity allegations
The opposition BJP had been mounting pressure on the DK Shivakumar government to seek B Nagendra's resignation.
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Karnataka Minister B Nagendra announced his resignation from the state Cabinet led by chief minister DK Shivakumar, as well as from his MLA seat, on Friday, following allegations of his involvement in financial irregularities at the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation.
In tears at a press conference, he said he had decided to “voluntarily step down” to avoid “embarrassment to the party”.
"I am resigning of my own will to avoid the embarrassment that may cost my party because of unnecessary allegations made by the opposition party against me," he said, adding that he was a victim of the BJP's “manuvadi” politics.
Nagendra's resignation came amid heightened political pressure on him and the Congress government over the alleged Valmiki Corporation scam. The BJP and JD(S) have been demanding the minister's resignation since his re-induction into the Cabinet on August 3, alleging that he was linked to the alleged diversion of funds from the state-run corporation.
The opposition staged repeated protests inside and outside the legislature during the recent monsoon session, which was curtailed by three days and adjourned sine die on August 24 amid the continued uproar.
The two parties have also planned a foot march from Raichur to Ballari, demanding Nagendra's resignation from September 1 to 10.
What is the Valmiki Cooperation scam?
The controversy around B Nagendra dates back to May 2024, when P Chandrasekharan, then an accounts superintendent with the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, died by suicide and left a six-page note alleging irregularities and unauthorised transfers of corporation funds.
Subsequent investigations found that ₹89.63 crore had been transferred from a corporation account to a Union Bank of India account and subsequently moved to multiple other accounts, triggering a major political controversy.
B Nagendra, who was the tribal welfare minister when the controversy surfaced, had resigned from the Cabinet in June 2024. He was re-inducted on August 3, 2026, with the Planning and Statistics portfolio, prompting the Opposition to revive its demand for his removal.
