Bengaluru: KPCC president B K Hariprasad on Saturday dismissed BJP’s claim of victory following B Nagendra’s resignation from the Karnataka cabinet, saying the former minister had stepped down out of moral responsibility and that the development should not be portrayed as a political triumph.
Addressing a press conference at the KPCC office, Hariprasad said, “Nagendra’s resignation is neither a victory for the BJP nor the result of the opposition’s agitation. It is a victory against the conspiracy and machinations directed at a leader from the Dalit community.”
Taking a dig at BJP leaders who described the resignation as “one wicket down”, Hariprasad said politics was not an IPL match. He asked those celebrating the “fall of a wicket” to first look at how many BJP leaders had faced chargesheets, arrests, investigations or were out on bail.
Hariprasad said it was the job of investigating agencies to level allegations and the courts to determine whether a person was guilty or not.
“The BJP office is neither a court nor are BJP leaders judges,” he said, arguing that allegations should not be treated as proof of guilt.
He said the state government had ordered an SIT probe soon after irregularities in the Valmiki Corporation came to light and action had subsequently been taken against officials. The Enforcement Directorate had also investigated the case, while Nagendra had cooperated with the probe, he claimed.
Referring to the special court’s bail order in the ED case, Hariprasad said BJP leaders should take note of the court’s observations that there was no evidence to establish that Nagendra had received or used ₹94.73 crore.
He also claimed that Nagendra had not been named as an accused in the SIT chargesheet.
“Let the CBI or ED investigate the case. If there are documents and evidence, prove them before the court. But we cannot accept a politics where an allegation itself is portrayed as punishment,” Hariprasad said.
Hariprasad challenged the BJP to discuss corruption from Ballari, referring to the 2011 Lokayukta report on illegal mining and the cases involving the Reddy brothers.
He pointed out that BJP leader Janardhana Reddy had spent more than three years in jail in connection with the illegal mining case and questioned the propriety of leaders with such backgrounds speaking about corruption.
Responding to state BJP president B Y Vijayendra’s reported description of Nagendra as a “small fish”, Hariprasad challenged him to identify and prove who the “big fish” were if he had documentary evidence.
He also alleged that several opposition leaders facing action by central investigating agencies had received relief in cases after joining the BJP or its allies. The BJP, therefore, had no moral right to lecture others on corruption, he said.
‘Congress won’t abandon Nagendra’
Hariprasad said Congress would not abandon Nagendra, a four-time MLA and prominent Scheduled Tribe leader, and assured that he would be given an appropriate position in the party.
He further alleged that the BJP had disrupted legislative proceedings by focusing on the Nagendra issue instead of allowing discussions on drought and other major issues facing Karnataka.
According to Hariprasad, the opposition was avoiding a discussion that could have raised questions about Karnataka’s pending share of funds from the Centre.
“BJP leaders are not Satyaharishchandras. Has any BJP leader resigned immediately after facing allegations?” he asked, adding that the people of Karnataka would give the BJP an appropriate response in the days ahead.