Embezzlement of funds: BJP ups ante, seeks CM’s resignation during protests

Belagavi/ Ballari/ Dharwad: The BJP members staged a demonstration in front of the deputy commissioner’s office in Dharwad on Friday to protest against the alleged embezzlement of funds to the tune of Rs 187 crore from Karnataka State Maharshi Valimiki Development Corporation and demanded that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should own the moral responsibility and resign.
The BJP activists of Belagavi city and district (rural) units staged a massive protest in Belagavi on Friday, condemning the Rs 187 crore embezzlement in the Valmiki Development Corporation and demanded Siddaramaiah's resignation as chief minister.
A protest rally was held from Sardar ground to the DC’s office under the leadership of BJP state vice president Anil Benake. The activists displayed the portraits of CM Siddaramaiah and former minister Nagendra and shouted slogans against the state govt.
The BJP workers who came to gherao the office were stopped by the police. A barricade was put up on the DC office premises.
MB Zirali, an advocate and state BJP spokesperson and said that the govt should register a criminal case against B Nagendra under sections 302 and 307. Later, the protesters submitted a memorandum to the governor through the district administration demanding action against MLA B Nagendra.
BJP workers gherao DC’s offices in Ballari, Raichur and Vijayanagara dist
On Friday, BJP's district branches in Ballari, Vijayanagar, Raichur, and Koppal protested by attempting to barge into the offices of their respective DC’s, seeking CM Siddaramaiah's resignation over irregularities in the Valmiki Development Corporation and also demanding the government to order a CBI probe into the case.
At DC’s office in Ballari, former minister Sriramulu questioned the mastermind behind the case, saying, “If CM Siddaramaiah, who presents himself as a supporter of Dalits and AHINDA, does not hand over the investigation to the CBI, suspicions will arise regarding his involvement.”
In Koppal, a protest march took place as leaders and party workers made their way from Ashok Circle to the DC’s office but were prevented by the police. BJP district president Naveen Gulagannavar and Gangavati MLA Gali Janardana Reddy, who both scaled the barricade, demanded a CBI inquiry into the corruption allegations.
In Hosapete, the protest started at Sai Baba Circle and gathered at the DC's office, where MLA Krishna Nayak and party workers staged a sit-in on the road. In Raichur, a group of protesters tried to enter the DC’s office, resulting in the police taking some of them into custody.