Bengaluru, 11 Aug 11

Karnataka Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna has been asked to resign, sources in the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s office said on Monday.

"Rajanna has been asked to resign," a top source in the Chief Minister’s office told PTI.

Rajanna held a meeting with the Chief Minister in the Vidhana Soudha. Sources in the CM office said his recent statement proved fatal for the Minister.

Rajanna, a Siddaramaiah loyalist, drew the ire of the Congress High Command when he allegedly blamed his own government in Karnataka for the ‘vote theft’ in Mahadevapura Assembly segment.

Rahul Gandhi recently held a press conference in New Delhi and later a public meeting in Bengaluru where he claimed that the BJP government at the Centre came to power due to ‘vote theft’.

He also alleged that there was over one lakh bogus voters in Mahadevapura Assembly segment of the Bangalore Central Parliamentary Constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Rajanna tried to blame the Congress government for the ‘vote theft’. The irregularities took place in Karnataka when the Congress is in power, the Minister said and alleged that it happened ‘right in front of our eyes’.

Rajanna has been in the news for the past two months after he claimed that there would be a ‘September Revolution’, hinting at a major upheaval in the government.

The matter became a talking point during Karnataka Assembly session on Monday with the BJP legislators demanding that Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil and Rajanna clear the air on this matter.

Raising the issue in the Assembly, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka sought to know what allegations were against Rajanna for removing him.

"Are there are any corruption charges against Rajanna, how much money he has made and where he has kept? He just spoke the truth that there is Congress government when the voting took place,” he said.

Ashoka said Rajanna is a respected minister. "He (Rajanna) was the only Siddaramaiah loyalist. Is Siddaramaiah the next target after his removal?” the BJP leader asked.

Participating in this discussion, BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar said, "Since this news came when the legislative session is in progress, it is the duty of the state government to make a statement".

Replying to BJP’s demand, Minister Patil said it is not proper to ask the government to answer just because media is flashing a news.

 "If there are any such developments, the Chief Minister will definitely inform you. Session is in progress and this discussion is unnecessary,” Patil said.

Suresh Kumar said, “Either the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister should make a statement or Rajanna should make a statement. He himself is here".

The Opposition BJP MLAs sought to know whether Rajanna was sitting in the House as a Minister or an ‘ordinary’ MLA.

Replying to the discussion on him, Rajanna said, "Our Parliamentary Affairs Minister has said that the Chief Minister will come and answer whether I have resigned or not and who has asked me to resign and who asked me not to resign. I will stick to what he says."