BJP activists staged protests in Shivamogga, Dharwad and Hassan districts on Monday, demanding the resignation of ministers KJ George and Vinay Kulkarni.
The BJP is seeking their resignation over their alleged role in the deaths of Dy SP MK Ganapathy and BJP activist and Dharwad ZP member Yogesh Gowda respectively.
A protest was held in Shivamogga led by KS Eshwarappa, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council while the Hassan district unit of the BJP also staged a protest demanding the dismissal of the ministers from the state cabinet.
BJP members in Dharwad held another protest rally to ramp up the pressure on the two ministers embroiled in controversies, reported The Hindu.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against George and two senior police officials in connection with the demise of Dy SP MK Ganapathy in July 2016.
George was forced to resign from his position but he was re-inducted into the state cabinet as the Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) cleared his name. The BJP however criticised the hurry to bring George back and continued to see his resignation.
Meanwhile, Mines and Geology Minister Vinay Kulkarni is under pressure for his alleged role in the death of BJP activist and Dharwad ZP member Yogesh Gowda.
Family members of the victim alleged intimidation by Vinay Kulkarni to drop a police case filed against him. However, Kulkarni, while admitting that he had met with family members of the victim, denied these allegations.
KS Eshwarappa said that the state government should hand over the probe into the murder of Yogesh Gowda to the CBI to bring out the truth. He also sought a response from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah about the delay in resignations of George and Kulkarni, according to The Hindu.
The Opposition BJP members had also staged a dharna on the final day of the winter session of the Legislative Assembly on Friday demanding the resignation of Vinay Kulkarni.
Both ministers are facing the heat with just six months to go for the state assembly polls.