Bengaluru witnessed fresh political turmoil on Tuesday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Janata Dal (Secular) staged protests inside the Karnataka Assembly, accusing the ruling Congress government of involvement in an alleged ₹6,000 crore excise scam.
The protest was led by BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra, who claimed that Excise Minister R.B. Timmapur and his family members were linked to the alleged scam. He alleged that “proof has already emerged” but Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was unwilling to allow a detailed discussion in the House. Vijayendra demanded either a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe or an inquiry by a sitting High Court judge, calling it the only way to ensure transparency.
Carrying placards and raising slogans, BJP and JD(S) legislators gathered near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue within the Assembly campus. They also demanded the suspension of certain Congress MLAs for what they described as “insulting and disrespecting” Governor Thawarchand Gehlot during last week’s heated session.
The protest comes amid an ongoing face-off between the Karnataka government and the Governor over the controversial G RAM G jobs guarantee scheme, which recently replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) after being cleared by Parliament. Tensions escalated last week when Governor Gehlot declined to read parts of the state government’s prepared speech during a special session, triggering sharp reactions from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who accused the Governor of acting as a “puppet” of the Centre.
Congress leaders, meanwhile, accused the BJP of creating political drama to divert attention from its own challenges at the national level. The BJP withdrew its protest after the Assembly Speaker assured that time would be allotted to discuss the excise scam allegations in the House.
With Karnataka and Tamil Nadu emerging as key political battlegrounds ahead of the upcoming budget session, the latest confrontation signals a sharpening of political tensions between the Congress-led state government and the BJP-led opposition, both inside and outside the Assembly.
