Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Criticizes Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Over Valmiki Corporation Scam
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has strongly criticized Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for demanding her resignation over the alleged Maharishi Valmiki Corporation Board scam. She questioned why Siddaramaiah had not taken action against the bank officials involved in the scandal.
Addressing the media at a post-budget press conference in Bengaluru, Sitharaman said, “Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah can say this because he is quite used to speaking like that. That is not responsible.”
She added, “Action has already been taken as a first step against the conniving officials in the bank and further lawful action will be taken against them. But here is a minister who had to resign under his oversight. This has happened. Attempt to deny, an attempt to shift blame, an attempt to say there is no scandal happening.”
Sitharaman emphasized that the Valmiki community’s money was taken away and questioned the lack of outrage. She criticized the Congress party for talking about ‘Nyay’ (justice) during election campaigns but failing to deliver justice for the SCs and STs.
She also challenged Siddaramaiah to explain why he did not hold the bank officials accountable. “If only they had taken the bank officials to the police station and held them accountable, then that would have given the right to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to accuse the central government, accuse me and ask me to resign,” she said.
The Finance Minister also pointed out discrepancies in the reported amount of the scam, stating that it was not over Rs 180 crore but around Rs 80 crore. She reiterated that she had already taken action against the bank staff and further legal action would follow.
Earlier, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly witnessed a ruckus over the alleged financial irregularities in the state-run corporation, with the opposition BJP and JD(S) staging a protest and demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation. The scam involves the illegal transfer of funds from the Maharshi Valmiki ST Corporation, which implements welfare programs for scheduled tribe members.
The issue came to light after an official, Chandrasekaran, died by suicide and left a note alleging multi-crore corruption in the corporation. Former Karnataka Minister B Nagendra was arrested in connection with the scam, and his wife Manjula was detained by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).
Nagendra has denied the allegations and stated that he would come out clean after the investigation.
Doubts Revealed
Finance Minister -: The Finance Minister is a person in the government who is responsible for managing the country’s money and finances. In India, this person is Nirmala Sitharaman.
Nirmala Sitharaman -: Nirmala Sitharaman is an important leader in India who takes care of the country’s money matters. She is the Finance Minister.
Karnataka CM -: Karnataka CM stands for Karnataka Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the head of the government in the state of Karnataka. Right now, it is Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah -: Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister of Karnataka, which means he is the leader of the government in that state.
Valmiki Corporation Scam -: The Valmiki Corporation Scam is a big problem where money was taken illegally from the Maharshi Valmiki ST Corporation, which is supposed to help people from the Scheduled Tribes.
Maharshi Valmiki Corporation Board -: The Maharshi Valmiki Corporation Board is a group that helps people from the Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka. They provide support and funds for their development.
Bank officials -: Bank officials are people who work in banks and help manage money. In this case, some of them were involved in the illegal transfer of funds.
B Nagendra -: B Nagendra is a former minister in Karnataka who was arrested because he was involved in the illegal transfer of money in the Valmiki Corporation Scam.
Multi-crore corruption -: Multi-crore corruption means a very large amount of money was taken illegally. ‘Crore’ is a term used in India to represent ten million.
Suicide note -: A suicide note is a letter written by someone who is about to take their own life. In this case, an official wrote a note before dying, saying there was a lot of corruption.
