₹187 crore, three ledgers and one protest
The Karnataka BJP says the Valmiki Corporation case still leaves money unexplained. Official records document diversion and recoveries—but not the full Telangana campaign claim.
The Valmiki Corporation case has produced competing accounts of diversion, recovery and what remains unestablished.
The Karnataka BJP has revived the Valmiki Corporation case with a familiar number: ₹187 crore. R Ashoka, the Opposition leader, alleged that the Congress government had failed to account for it and claimed welfare funds were diverted for political activity in Karnataka and Telangana. The BJP and JD(S) announced protests. The slogan is large; the ledger is more complicated.
The Enforcement Directorate’s prosecution complaint says ₹187 crore, including ₹43.33 crore from the state treasury, was deposited into the corporation’s Union Bank account without proper procedure. It alleges ₹89.62 crore was diverted into accounts in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and that ₹20.19 crore was used for election-related and personal expenses. Those are findings and allegations in an ongoing case, not convictions. The ED named former minister B Nagendra as the primary accused; Nagendra has denied wrongdoing.
The Congress government’s account is different. Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said ₹79.68 crore had been seized or recovered and ₹4.94 crore remained under investigation. A later account put recovery at ₹79 crore of ₹84 crore. Nagendra resigned, and the Governor accepted it. What the records do not establish is that Congress’s Telangana campaign received the money—or that the entire ₹187 crore remains missing. The Karnataka BJP has a protest. Telangana still deserves the ledger, not the theatre.