Narayana Swamy was appointed as the chairman of the CDB in August 2018, where he unearthed alleged corruption involving the CDB's Bangalore regional director and technical officer. Both were suspended on the basis of Narayana Swamy's findings. Eventually, he was transferred out on 7 March, after which he went to the Central Administrative Tribunal, where his case is pending. In June 2019, it was reported that a high-level committee of state and central officials had taken the decision to terminate Narayana Swamy. "There are people who are afraid of me", said Narayana Swamy. Responding to the reports, he said he suspected some "serious moves" against him at the meeting. "They know I will unearth corruption and put many behind bars", Narayana Swamy added. In fact,the public outcry that followed the Kerala government’s decision to take punitive action against the whistleblower bureaucrat Raju Narayana Swamy put the state’s unflappable chief minister on the back foot and the government had to backtrack.