ED pressurising those arrested in Valmiki Corporation scam to name senior leaders: Karnataka Minister

BENGALURU: The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Thursday accused the BJP of using central agencies to topple the state government by exerting pressure on those arrested in connection with the Valmiki Corporation scam to spell out names of senior leaders.

Addressing a press conference, state Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda claimed that the Centre is attempting to bring down the Karnataka government as they did in states like Jharkhand, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal.

“We have definite information and we will share it with you. Those who have been arrested in connection with the Valmiki Corporation scam are being pressurised to name senior Congress leaders,” he said.

The Minister further said the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation were being misused to target the opposition.

Alleging that the objective of ED probe into the alleged irregularities in Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation was to topple the Congress government, he warned that the party will gear up for a legal battle and hit the streets to save democracy.

“The sulking BJP has realised that it cannot topple the Congress government in Karnataka, the way it did in 2019 when the coalition government of Congress and the JD(S) was brought down. The Centre is now trying to bring down the Congress government using ED."

He charged the ED with not doing a good job in tracing those involved in the scam.

“The ED has no intention to arrest the fraudsters but it is only an opportunity for them. This has happened in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh,” Gowda alleged.

“The ED started the (Valmiki Corporation) probe because they say wherever there are proceeds of crime involved, we have an authority to enter. Why the ED has not investigated the scams involving BJP leaders? Is it not proceeds of crime?” the Minister asked.

Pointing to the scams that took place in all boards and corporations for SC/ST over the last 4 years, he said the ED did not investigate them.

Citing a report, Gowda said the number of cases registered by ED has increased by 400 per cent and 95 per cent of them are against the opposition parties.

The remaining five per cent are only against the BJP or its alliance parties, he added.

“Once the scamsters join the BJP, all the cases are closed. This we have witnessed in Maharashtra and Telangana, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam.”

Last week, the ED had arrested former Minister B Nagendra in connection with the scam.

During search operations carried out at the premises of Nagandra and Basanagouda Daddal, the Chairperson of the Corporation and Raichur Rural Congress MLA, the agency said it recovered incriminating documents linking them to the handling of diverted funds during the recent elections.

Additionally, associates closely connected to Nagendra were implicated in the fund diversion and cash management, it said.