Karnataka: Nagendra's Resignation Highlights Ballari Ministers' Tumultuous History

Mangaluru: Minister Nagendra's resignation has thrust the spotlight on the tumultuous history of ministers from the Ballari district over the past 15 years. A striking pattern emerges: five ministers from this region have lost their posts, either through resignation or cabinet reshuffles, due to various reasons.

Among the notable names are mining barons G Janardhan Reddy and B Sriramulu, who served as ministers in BJP's Yediyurappa government. Despite facing charges of illegal mining, they retained their ministerial positions until Yediyurappa's resignation in 2011. When BJP leader DV Sadananda Gowda assumed the role of Chief Minister, both were excluded from the new state cabinet.

In the 2013 elections, the BJP lost power to the Congress, led by Siddaramaiah. Congress leader and Kalaghatagi MLA Santosh Lad was appointed Minister of State for Information and Infrastructure Development and was made the in-charge minister of Ballari. However, following allegations of illegal mining, Lad resigned in November of the same year, becoming the first minister to step down in Siddaramaiah's six-month-old government. However, he made a comeback three years later after coming clean on the issue.

PT Parameshwar Naik, the MLA from Huvinahadagali, served as the Labor Minister. He made headlines for allegedly transferring DySP Anupama Shenoy for not responding to his phone call, a move that the opposition used to criticize the Siddaramaiah government. His name was dropped during a cabinet reshuffle in 2016.

The most recent resignation is from Bellary Rural MLA B Nagendra resigned amid allegations of Valmiki Development Corporation scam, marking the first resignation in Siddaramaiah 2.0 government.

Ends.

--