"Trying to defame Dalit Minister": DK Shivakumar dismisses BJP's "6,000 crore excise scam" allegations

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], January 27 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday dimissed demands for the resignation of state Excise Minister Ramappa Timmapur made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that alleged "scam involving more than Rs 6,000 crore", saying that the opposition party in the state was trying to defame a Dalit Minister.
"It is all bogus. Nothing is there. What they are telling is politically motivated. They are just trying to defame a Dalit Minister. That's all," Shivakumar told reporters here.
As the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) protested on the Karnataka assembly premises over various issues, including an alleged insult to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, the Deputy CM responded by saying they had lost the right to sit in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue.
His remarks come amid Congress' protest opposing the repeal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and its replacement with the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) or VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025.
He demanded that the centre reinstate the MGNREGA scheme, underlining that all the gram Panchayats will have Gandhi's name.
"They have lost the right to sit in front of Gandhiji's statue. They have no morality. Now, it seems they will sit in Delhi and decide who should work where. They are trying to take away the rights of Panchayats and Panchayat members. If contractors are doing work anywhere, people should go there and do the work themselves. The Central Government should reinstate the MGNREGA scheme. We will put Gandhiji's name in front of every Panchayat office," he said.
Furthermore, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the move to rename MGNEGA curtails constitutional rights and centralises authority with the Union government.
"The reason is that MGNREGA was repealed with the VB G Ram G Bill. They are taking away the rights given by the Constitution. Now, with this VB G Ram G, the central government will decide everything," he said.
The Chief Minister announced that the Congress would intensify its agitation across Karnataka in the coming days.
"We will do our protest in the whole state. They should repeal this VB G Ram G and bring back MGNREGA. Until then, we will continue our fight," he said.
He added that the party would undertake padayatras in several parts of the state to mobilise public support. "We will do a padayatra in many places in the state," he said.
The protest comes amid growing political opposition to the VB-G RAM G Act, passed in the Winter Session of Parliament in 2025 and replacing the 100-day employment guarantee with a 125-day guarantee. However, the Opposition has criticised the legislation for removing Mahatma Gandhi's name and for removing the 60:40 share of funds between the Centre and states.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra demanded that a proper investigation be conducted into the excise scam involving more than Rs 6,000 crore, while also pressing for the state excise minister Ramappa Timmapur to resign.
The investigation must be carried out either by a sitting High Court judge or by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he asserted.
Speaking to the media here, Vijayendra said that the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) are jointly staging a protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha against the "corrupt" Congress government.
"Rs 6,000 crore scam wherein the excise minister and his family members are involved, and proof has already emerged, but CM Siddaramaiah is not willing to discuss this on the floor of the house. Investigation by the CBI or a sitting high court judge is the only answer to the entire scam. The Siddaramaiah government is trying to cover up the entire scam, creating drama. Outside the house and inside the house, we are going to demand the resignation of the excise minister," Vijayendra told reporters.
He added that the entire country has witnessed how Congress goons behaved in a hooligan-like manner towards Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot inside the Assembly. (ANI)