Bengaluru, Aug 11 (IANS) K.N. Rajanna, a close aide of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has been removed from the Council of Ministers following instructions from Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.

Rajanna, who was the State Cooperation Minister, was asked to submit his resignation after his remark alleging voter fraud during the tenure of the current Congress-led Karnataka government.

R. Prabhushankar, Special Secretary to Karnataka Governor, on Monday has confirmed the development in his letter addressed to Shalini Rajaneesh, Karnataka Chief Secretary.

The letter said, “I am directed to forward here with the original notification signed by the Governor for removal of K.N. Rajanna, Cooperation Minister, from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect, for further necessary action.”

Earlier, Karnataka Congress Spokesperson and veteran leader Ramesh Babu has confirmed that Minister Rajanna’s resignation has been accepted by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, though the reason for it is not yet known.

Speaking to reporters at Vidhana Soudha, Ramesh Babu said, “As per the instructions given by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister Rajanna has tendered his resignation. The resignation has already been accepted. We have to see for what reason his resignation was sought.”

“We don’t know the reason yet. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) or the Chief Minister will have to confirm it. We are not sure. So far, neither the AICC nor the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) has made any official statement regarding the reason for his resignation. We are waiting,” he added.

“Once we receive communication from the AICC or the PCC, we will be able to share the information. It is true that he (K.N. Rajanna) has submitted his resignation and that the Chief Minister has accepted it,” he said.

Minister Rajanna had earlier directly challenged Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and even said in Delhi that he was ready to take over the post of State Party President from Shivakumar.

He had also advocated for a Dalit Chief Minister in case of a change of leadership in the state.

Earlier, on August 8, Rajanna had said, “Rahul Gandhi has made statements backed by documents. He is speaking with authority, and we must endorse his statements — there is no doubt about it. The BJP is well aware of the malpractices. The RSS, the frontal organisation of the BJP, is manipulating everything.”

“The common people are with us. In the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, voters have been enrolled without proper addresses. How is that even possible? During the parliamentary election, our government was in power — we should have been more alert. Instead, we are alert only now. Had we acted earlier, we could have prevented these malpractices,” Rajanna added.

–IANS

mka/khz