Won’t quit, will explain in House: Karnataka Excise Minister says amid scam allegations
Bengaluru: Responding to the BJP staging a protest and demanding his resignation over an alleged scam, Excise Minister R.B. Timmapur on Tuesday said he would not resign and would issue a clarification on the floor of the House.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said, “I will not resign. Let the BJP raise the matter during the session. I will answer the charges and also provide clarifications.”
Meanwhile, the Karnataka unit of the BJP continued its agitation demanding the resignation of R.B. Timmapur by disrupting the proceedings and staging a protest in the Well of the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, soon after the commencement of the session.
BJP legislators declined the request of Speaker U.T. Khader to begin the Question Hour. Addressing the Speaker, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said that videos allegedly showing the involvement of the minister and officials in the Rs 2,500 crore scam had surfaced and that the issue was being widely discussed among the public.
“We do not know whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is also getting a share in the corruption,” Ashoka alleged.
He further said that liquor vendors were taking their complaint to Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the President of India. “The honour of the state is being auctioned. When the ST Corporation scam surfaced, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sought the resignation of a Cabinet minister. Why is there a delay now?” Ashoka questioned.
“We are staging a protest and should be allowed to speak. A formal request has already been submitted in this regard,” he said.
Responding to this, Speaker Khader said that a formal request had been received and that he would convert it under Rule 69 and permit a discussion. Ashoka agreed to this proposal, withdrew the protest, and stated that the Speaker should not be biased at a later stage.
Earlier, the BJP on Tuesday staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue, demanding the resignation of Timmapur and alleged that funds were being collected to finance the Congress party’s election campaigns in Kerala, Assam and Tamil Nadu.
The protest was led by the R. Ashoka, and BJP State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra. BJP MLAs and MLCs held placards demanding the resignation of Timmapur and raised slogans against the state government. The placards stated that the protest would continue until the minister resigned.