BJP leaders BY Vijayendra, R Ashok and others stage a night protest in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo credit: special arrangement
Refusing to withdraw their all-night dharna, BJP members continued their protest in the assembly on the last day of the session on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of Excise Minister RB Thimmapura over the alleged bribery scandal in his department.
Once the House met on Wednesday morning, BJP and JD(S) members thronged the well of the House and continued their dharna. They raised slogans against the minister and the government.
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok expressed disappointment that the minister did not resign despite “providing evidence” in the form of an audio recording of a conversation between a client and an excise official about the alleged bribe; and the complaint filed by the concerned person with the Lokayukta.
“To preserve morale and ensure accountability, the minister should resign immediately and allow an impartial investigation,” he argued.
Training his guns on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, he said, “If the Chief Minister does not ask the minister to go, then people in the state will start asking if he too is involved in the corruption scandal.
He alleged that money from the Excise Department was sent to sustain Congress election expenses in other states. “In fact, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is in charge of Assam and Power Minister KJ George is in charge of Kerala for the Congress,” he said, asserting that “Karnataka has not become an ATM but an RBI for the Congress high command.”
He wondered why the government had only taken action against a lower-level excise official who had asked the complainant to meet the chief minister and his son to get a new licence, but spared a senior official who had clearly indicated that bribes had to be paid to get a new licence.
Published – 04 Feb 2026 23:54 IST
