Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 11 : Following the resignation of Karnataka Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's cabinet, Congress MLA HD Ranganath on Monday called it the "Chief Minister's prerogative" while hinting at underlying discontent within the party.
Speaking to ANI, Ranganath said, "It is the Chief Minister's prerogative. I have no comment on it. But there was a lot of displeasure and other things. We did not expect Rajanna sir to like that."
Meanwhile, Karnataka's Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil claimed he was unaware of the reasons behind Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna's resignation.
He said, "I am not aware of it. The Chief Minister may be aware of it, because when someone resigns, it has to be submitted to the Chief Minister."
The reactions come after the Karnataka government on Monday formally notified the removal of KN Rajanna, Minister for Co-operation, from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect.
The notification, signed by Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot and forwarded by Special Secretary to the Governor R. Prabushankar on August 11, 2025, was addressed to Chief Secretary Smt. Shalini Rajneesh, IAS.
The letter stated, "I am directed to forward herewith the original notification signed by the Hon'ble Governor for the removal of Sri K.N. Rajanna, Hon'ble Minister for Co-operation, from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect, for further necessary action."
Meanwhile, Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shobha Karandlaje launched a scathing attack on the Congress party on Monday, accusing it of suppressing the truth and "forcing" Karnataka Minister KN Rajanna to resign for questioning Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "vote theft" in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In a post on X, Karandlaje claimed that the Congress was "scared of the truth" and was hiding behind "false allegations" to silence dissent within its ranks.
"This is the reward given to a Scheduled Tribe minister for speaking the truth. Congress is scared of the truth and hides behind false allegations of vote chori. Minister KN Rajanna has been forced to resign for questioning Rahul Gandhi's baseless vote theft claims," she said.
On Saturday, Rajanna, talking to reporters in Tumkuru, asked why Congress leaders "turned a blind eye" to irregularities in voter lists and kept silent when they should have raised objections.
He said, "Look, if we just start talking about such things casually, there will be different opinions. When was the voter list prepared? It was prepared when our own government was in power. At that time, was everyone just sitting quietly with eyes closed? These irregularities did take place -- that's the truth. There is nothing false in this."
Admitting that the irregularities happened openly, he said, "These irregularities happened right in front of our eyes -- we should feel ashamed. We didn't take care of it at the time. That's why we must be alert in the future."
"In Mahadevapura, there was indeed fraud. One person was registered in three different places and voted in all three. But when the draft electoral rolls are being prepared, we have to monitor it, right?...When the draft electoral rolls are made, we must file objections -- that is our responsibility. At that time, we kept quiet and now we are talking," Rajanna said.