Karnataka Home Minister Kharge Fires Back at BJP Over Resignation Call Amid KPSC Scam

On September 7, 2026, Karnataka’s Home Minister Priyank Kharge took to X (formerly Twitter) and gave the BJP a piece of his mind. He said the party’s call for his resignation was “desperate” and, frankly, a bit baffling.

In a thread that read more like a conversation than a press release, Kharge asked the BJP to explain why they were so quick to target him while staying oddly quiet about two men he says are at the heart of the KPSC recruitment scandal – Basavaraj Kannale and Shivashankarappa Sahukar. ‘Ask them why they can’t answer,’ he wrote, ‘being loud won’t drown the truth.’

Kharge didn’t stop at rhetorical questions. He reminded everyone that Kannale, whom he describes as a “main accused,” was spotted at official BJP gatherings, even joining leaders on national and international tours. The minister also highlighted that the same party seemed perfectly fine celebrating Kannale’s birthday and flag‑off his business ventures, yet suddenly turned into a vocal critic demanding Kharge’s ouster.

Adding fuel to the fire, Kharge pointed out that Kannale allegedly tried to flee the country – a detail the BJP has apparently kept under wraps. He also asked why the party hadn’t spoken up about Sahukar, another name that keeps surfacing in the investigation.

For context, the KPSC scam involves alleged irregularities in the recruitment of 400 veterinary officers for the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department. The written exam took place on January 8, and the final list was announced on July 17. The controversy deepened when, on September 4, the state government suspended IAS officer Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar pending a probe into possible corruption linked to the hiring process.

Kharge’s swipe at the BJP comes as the opposition tries to balance political point‑scoring with genuine accountability. Whether his public challenge will force the BJP to name names or simply add another chapter to Karnataka’s already tangled political drama remains to be seen.