BENGALURU: Bhajans, religious chants, and sloganeering dominated the overnight protest by Opposition BJP and JD(S) MLAs inside the Karnataka Assembly premises, as they demanded the resignation of Excise Minister RB Timmapur over alleged corruption in his department.
The agitation has been ongoing since Tuesday night. The Opposition has alleged widespread corruption in the Excise Department, claiming that bribes are being demanded for issuing liquor licences, according to news agency ANI.
Opposition leader R Ashoka alleged that there was a scam to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore in the department and claimed that the money was being used by the ruling Congress to fund the party in poll-bound states.
The immediate trigger for the protests was the arrest of Excise Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Urban District Jagadeesh Naik and two other officials by Lokayukta sleuths for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 25 lakh on January 16.
According to Lokayukta officials, the officers were accused of demanding Rs 80 lakh to issue CL-7 (Hotels & Boarding Houses) and microbrewery licences.
Responding to the allegations, Minister Timmapur said he had taken steps to reduce corruption in his department and added, "corruption is not a new phenomenon in my department."
He declined the BJP's demand for his resignation, noting that no ministers during the BJP government had ever stepped down.
Earlier on Tuesday, BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai accused the Excise Minister of corruption and said the party would continue its overnight protest."There are charges of corruption against Excise Minister R.B. Timmapur...even then he's denying saying that it didn't happen." he claimed.
"We will stage a day and night protest in the assembly, which has begun and would go on till the morning and continue even after the Speaker arrives...We will sleep in the Vidhana Soudha tonight and protest. Our demand is his resignation." he added.
BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra also alleged that Timmapur was involved in a multi-crore liquor scam last month, claiming that an audio clip incriminates him. "It's more than a 6,000 crore liquor scam that had taken place last month, and the audio clip that had emerged has clearly mentioned the conversation between the district excise commissioner as well as the agent, where the officer clearly mentioned the name of the minister, the excise minister," he alleged.
"The BJP and the JD(S) have demanded the resignation of the excise minister. We demanded the resignation on the floor of the house," he stated.
Taking aim at Chief Minister Siddaramiah, he accused the CM of protecting the excise minister, further claiming that Karnataka has become an "ATM for the Congress high command".
"Since the Chief Minister himself is backing the excise minister, it's known to everybody that Karnataka has become an ATM for the Congress high command. Hence, the entire cabinet is behind the excise minister. Our demand is that the Chief Minister should accept the resignation of the excise minister," he said.
Responding to the allegations, Congress MLA Ashok Pattan said, "They have no value for the rules." He accused opposition leaders of "cooking up stories" about the Excise Minister, clarifying, "The Chief Minister would have taken action if there had been something wrong."
The demand for Timmapur’s resignation was first raised on January 23 by BJP MLA and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka after senior officers from the Excise Department were caught allegedly accepting a bribe for issuing a bar licence. R Ashoka alleged that Minister Ramappa Timmapur was involved in the scandal.
"He collected the money from the wine shops, bars, and liquor. They collected between Rs 2000 and Rs 3000 crores for the Assam, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu elections. It's a big scandal. We demanded the resignation of the excise minister," he said.
"We will fight for the resignation if not the CM has to resign," he added.
(With Agency Inputs)