Bengaluru, Jan. 27 -- Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday dimissed demands for the resignation of state Excise Minister Ramappa Timmapur made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that alleged "scam involving more than Rs 6,000 crore", saying that the opposition party in the state was trying to defame a Dalit Minister.

"It is all bogus. Nothing is there. What they are telling is politically motivated. They are just trying to defame a Dalit Minister. That's all," Shivakumar told reporters here.

As the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) protested on the Karnataka assembly premises over various issues, including an alleged insult to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, the Deputy CM responded by saying they had lost the right to sit ...