CM Siddaramaiah recommended removal of Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna; Governor accepted.
Rajanna alleged ‘vote theft’ in Mahadevapura segment under Congress rule, sparking party backlash.
Opposition sought clarification in the Assembly; Rajanna said he would await CM’s official word.
Karnataka Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna was removed from the state Cabinet on Monday after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recommended his sacking to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot.
According to PTI, Siddaramaiah had initially asked Rajanna to resign, but after he refused, a formal recommendation for his removal was sent to the Raj Bhavan in the afternoon and promptly accepted. The Governor’s Special Secretary, R Prabhushankar, communicated the decision to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh for immediate action.
Rajanna had recently sparked controversy by alleging that “vote theft” in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections occurred under the Congress-led government’s watch. His comments came shortly after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP and the Election Commission of large-scale electoral fraud, citing over one lakh bogus voters in the segment.
The remarks proved fatal to Rajanna’s ministerial position. The minister had also been in the spotlight over the past two months for hinting at a “September Revolution”, fuelling speculation about internal party turbulence.
The matter was raised in the Karnataka Assembly on Monday, with BJP legislators questioning the grounds for Rajanna’s removal and demanding clarity from the government. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil declined to provide details, saying any official statement would come from the Chief Minister. Rajanna himself told the House he would “stick to what the Parliamentary Affairs Minister says” regarding his resignation, as reported by PTI.
