BJP begins 10-day padayatra against ‘corruption’ in Congress government.

BJP workers on a padayatra from Lingasugur to Ballari which was launched in Lingasugur on Tuesday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday began a 10-day padayatra from Lingasugur in Raichur district to Ballari, with the party seeking to turn the campaign into a broader protest against alleged corruption, diversion of funds meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, inadequate drought relief and neglect of North Karnataka.

The padayatra, originally planned to demand the resignation of Planning and Statistics Minister B. Nagendra over alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, continued even after Mr. Nagendra resigned as minister. The BJP has now expanded its campaign to raise a number of issues against the Congress government.

Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa called off the padayatra after a public meeting in Lingasugur. Leaders including BJP state president BY Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashok, former Chief Ministers Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanswamy and former minister CT Ravi attended the programme.

“This padayatra is a campaign against the misgovernance and corruption of the Congress government. It marks the beginning of a new fight by the BJP against the government,” Mr. Yediyurappa said.

Asked if Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was free to perform his duties, the veteran leader accused him of “going to Delhi for everything and falling at Rahul Gandhi’s feet”.

Diversion Fund

Mr. Vijayendra said the party would not rest until the “₹187 crore embezzled in the Valmiki Corporation case” was recovered and transferred to the exchequer. Mr. Vijayendra also alleged that around ₹ 50,000 crore meant for SCs and STs was diverted to implement guarantee schemes.

Pointing out the drought situation in the state, Mr. Vijayendra claimed that more than 200 taluks were facing drought while only 101 were declared drought-affected. He accused the government of discriminating between constituencies represented by Congress and BJP MLAs while assessing drought conditions.

The state government is least concerned about the development of North Karnataka. It has not released required funds for major irrigation projects in North Karnataka, including Navali buffer tank and Nandawadagi Lift irrigation project,” he said.

Another resignation

He predicted that “another senior minister” would resign in the coming days and that the BJP would return to power in the 2028 assembly elections.

Claiming that 175 taluks have been affected by drought, Mr. Ashok said, “If you do not declare the remaining 74 taluks as drought-affected within a week, people will declare the government bankrupt.”

Calling Mr Nagendra a “scapegoat”, Mr Ashok alleged that funds embezzled in the Valmiki Corporation case were sent to the Congress high command, which he said used for its election campaign in other states.

Accusing the state government of indifference to North Karnataka, Mr. Bommai alleged that no funds had been released for major irrigation projects in the region, especially the Upper Krishna project, in the last three years.

He also questioned the manner in which the drought-affected talukas were identified, saying that the assessment should not be based on satellite imagery alone but should include verification at the ground level.

“When I was the chief minister, reservation for scheduled castes was increased from 15% to 17% and reservation for scheduled tribes from 3% to 7%. Now the Congress government has restored the reservation to its original position. This is how the Congress government is acting against SCs and STs,” he said.

Published – 02 Sep 2026 0:24 IST