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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday continued its overnight protest inside the Vidhana Soudha, with Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka and party MLAs spending the night within the Assembly premises as part of their agitation against the Congress government.
The protest, which began a day earlier, entered its second day with BJP legislators being seen taking a morning walk inside the Assembly complex. The BJP leaders are demanding the resignation of Excise Minister RB Timmapur, alleging large-scale corruption in the Excise Department. Party MLAs staged a sit-in inside the Vidhana Soudha, accusing the government of shielding the minister despite what they claim is substantial evidence of irregularities and financial misconduct. BJP MLA CN Ashwath Narayan launched an attack on the Congress-led state government, alleging that corruption has become institutionalised across departments, with the Excise Department being a major contributor. The BJP leader claimed that the department has become what he described as an "ATM sarkar," alleging fixed collections from wine vendors, sought postings, and issued and renewed licences. Speaking to ANI, Ashwath Narayan said, "Each department, especially the Excise Department, is into a lot of corruption. It has become an 'ATM sarkar' and they have been collecting regular collections with fixed charges with wine vendors, officers for postings, license and everything." He further alleged that the Excise Minister was collecting nearly Rs 6,000 crore annually through the department. "We have made an allegation that this Minister collects Rs 6000 Crores each year from the Excise Department. So, we are demanding his resignation. We have produced lot of evidence," he added. The protest also received support from Janata Dal (Secular), with JD(S) leader CB Suresh Babu joining the chorus against the state government. He said the opposition had been consistently demanding the Excise Minister's resignation over the last two days, but accused the government of remaining indecisive. "Yesterday and today, we fought against the excise minister's resignation. But this government is not making any decision. I will urge the Chief Minister to make the decision immediately," he told ANI. Further, BJP MLA Cement Manju told ANI, "There is an accusation of corruption on the Excise minister, R Timmapur. There is also a voice recording on how much money the ministers get. We have held a protest. We have also submitted the pen drive of his voice recording." The protests have added to the political heat in the ongoing Assembly session. A day earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) leaders started a protest in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly house to demand the resignation of the Excise Minister, RB Timmapur, for alleged corruption in his department. (ANI)
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