Karnataka minister resigns over ‘vote theft’ remark, BJP takes dig

In a surprising turn of events amid the ongoing Congress offensive over alleged vote theft in Bengaluru, senior minister KN Rajanna resigned from the state Cabinet on Monday.

A known loyalist of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Rajanna’s exit follows his public statement attributing ‘vote theft” in Mahadevapura Assembly segment of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat to irregularities under his own government.

Hours after Rajanna resigned — a move the CMO sources described as dismissal for his vote theft comments — the BJP slammed the Congress for dismissing a minister for speaking the truth. Raising the issue in the Assembly on Monday, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka asked whether Rajanna was facing any accusations of graft.

“Are there any charges of corruption against Rajanna, how much money he has made and where he has kept that money? He spoke the truth that there is a Congress Government when the voting took place…He was a respected minister and Siddaramaiah’s loyalist. Is Siddaramaiah the next target after his removal?” the BJP leader asked, upping the ante.

Rajanna had earlier irked the Congress high command by hinting at a “September revolution” in the party. He had claimed a massive political upheaval even hinting at a possible ouster of DK Shivakumar as the state Congress chief.

However, today’s events capped days of anxiety over Rajanna’s public remarks with the Congress leadership said to be unhappy with him.

His remarks that irregularities in voter rolls of Mahadevapura Assembly seat — where Rahul Gandhi claimed a theft of over one lakh votes — happened with Congress government in power, proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

India