Hariprasad accused the BJP of applying double standards, questioning whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union home minister Amit Shah would resign merely because allegations had been made against them.
He claimed that the BJP’s protests were intended to prevent scrutiny of the Centre over the pending drought assistance. The assembly session would continue until 27 August, he added.
Home, IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge also questioned the BJP’s authority to demand Nagendra’s removal before the completion of the legal process.
“Has the BJP become the Supreme Court or the high court by itself? Is it the Lokayukta?” Kharge asked, accusing the party of remaining silent about leaders within its own ranks who had faced cases or Lokayukta action.
Kharge claimed that Nagendra had not been named by the Criminal Investigation Department but had appeared in the Central Bureau of Investigation’s second chargesheet. He alleged that the development was politically motivated by the Centre.
Nagendra, meanwhile, accused the BJP of targeting him because it could not accept a Dalit leader holding a ministerial position.
He said the Congress government and the chief minister had repeatedly invited the Opposition for a discussion, but the BJP had continued to insist on his resignation.
Nagendra also disputed the BJP’s claims regarding the scale of the alleged scam, saying that the money in question had been recovered and that the Special Investigation Team had cleared him of wrongdoing.
The minister acknowledged that he was on bail in cases being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI but maintained that he had not been convicted.
“I have faced allegations and have come out clean in court,” Nagendra said, questioning why he should resign when other political leaders facing cases had continued in office after securing bail.
With IANS inputs
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