Tribal welfare fund: K’taka BJP to lay siege to District Commissioners’ offices on June 28

New Delhi: Karnataka BJP President, BY Vijayendra announced on Wednesday that the party would lay siege to all District Commissioners' offices in the state on June 28, over alleged irregularities in the tribal welfare body.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Vijayendra stated that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should take responsibility for the case as he is the Finance Minister.

He also demanded the immediate resignations of Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil and the tribal corporation President, Congress MLA Basavaraja Daddal.

“We will lay siege to all District Commissioners’ offices on June 28. The money reserved for Scheduled Tribes has been misappropriated. It is misused, and the Congress government has looted the money,” Vijayendra alleged.

The CBI has taken up the probe following a letter from the Union Bank of India and the state government formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) hastily to conduct the probe as per its whims, he alleged.

“The SIT is involved in hushing up the case, and the state government is attempting to divert attention by claiming they seized money from the residences of officers. Minister B. Nagendra had resigned. The money has been transferred to fake accounts in Telangana and withdrawn. This money was used to fund the expenses of the Lok Sabha election,” Vijayendra alleged.

“The agitation won’t stop here. The prices of petrol, diesel, and milk have been hiked. Following the rise in fuel prices, the prices of essential commodities have gone up,” he stated.

“There is a surge of inflation in the state. The Congress government and CM Siddaramaiah are punishing the people. Stamp duty has been hiked, and power tariff has increased. The price for installing transformers has been hiked to Rs 2.5 lakh from Rs 25,000. In the name of guarantees, the people are being cheated. The Congress government, which came to power with a full majority, is betraying the state,” Vijayendra claimed.

“The farmers are facing a crisis due to drought. The prices of seeds have gone up by 40 to 50 per cent. In these tough times, the government has remained unresponsive. The state is debt-ridden, and there is zero development,” he stated.