NEW DELHI: Karnataka minister B Nagendra announced his decision to resign from the state cabinet on Friday, just 25 days after assuming office, amid mounting pressure over his alleged involvement in the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation financial irregularities. Addressing a press conference, teary-eyed Nagendra said that he was innocent and had been unfairly targeted by the opposition.“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,” Nagendra said.“Manuwadis (apparently referring to the BJP) targeted me as they didn’t want a tribal person in the country to grow,” he added.This comes after Bharatiya Janata Party and JD(S) had been demanding Nagendra’s resignation over the alleged scam and had planned a foot march from Raichur to Ballari from September 1 to 10.The opposition had also staged repeated protests inside and outside the Karnataka Vidhan Saudha during the monsoon session, which was curtailed by three days and adjourned sine die on August 24 amid the continued uproar.Second resignation in over two yearsThis is Nagendra’s second resignation from the cabinet over the same allegations. Earlier, in June 2024, Nagendra had resigned from the tribal welfare department in Siddaramaiah’s cabinet after the controversy had surfaced.He was, however, re-inducted into DK Shivakumar’s cabinet on August 3, 2026, with the planning and statistics portfolio, prompting the opposition to revive its demand for his removal.What is Valmiki scam?The Valmiki scam refers to the alleged illegal transfer of funds from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd, a state-run body under the administrative control of the minister’s department.The alleged irregularities came to light following the suicide of accounts superintendent Chandrashekhar P on May 26, 2025. In his death note, Chandrashekhar alleged that Rs 187 crore belonging to the corporation had been unauthorisedly transferred from its bank account.
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Of this amount, Rs 88.62 crore was allegedly moved to various accounts, including those linked to prominent IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank.The matter gained further momentum after Union Bank of India filed a complaint with the CBI, which subsequently registered an FIR and began investigating the alleged financial irregularities.Following the development, then chief minister Siddaramaiah and then state Congress president DKS reportedly met and sought the resignation of Nagendra, promising reinstatement if he was found not guilty.The state government also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Manish Kharbikar, additional director general of police, economic offences, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), to conduct a parallel probe.
