New Delhi: Karnataka has been plunged into political turmoil after Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot approved the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over alleged irregularities in site allotments by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority. The ruling Congress party in the state has accused him of acting unconstitutionally under the influence of the central government.
According to The Hindu, the Governor’s secretariat on Saturday sent a six-page communication to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, stating that based on petitions from activists Pradeep Kumar S P, T J Abraham, and Snehamayi Krishna, sanction had been granted under Section 17(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for investigation, and under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023, for prosecution, “for the commission of the alleged offences mentioned in the petitions.”
The letter cited the of Madhya Pradesh police establishment and State of Madhya Pradesh in 2004 and a five-judge bench Supreme Court ruling
The state’s opposition party, Bhartiya Janta Party has demanded that the chief minister should resign immediately.
The Leader of opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R. Ashok said that the governor’s decision was a vindication of their protests.
Demanding that CM should resign and handing over the probe to CBI, Ashok reminded that earlier, former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa had resigned after governor H.R Bharadwaj had sanctioned prosecution in 2011.
“When the then governor of the State sanctioned prosecution against then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, he resigned. Will the Congress agree if we say the decision to accord sanction for prosecution then was political vendetta? Siddaramaiah should now follow the precedent set by Mr. Yeddyurappa, and immediately resign,” he said.
In his first reaction, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah refused to step down and stated that he will go to court.
Stating that the governor’s decision was “unconstitutional and illegal”, Siddaramaiah said, “We will wage a legal battle”.
The veteran Congress leader stated that he was expecting the Governor to sanction prosecution. “This is a big conspiracy to remove an elected government,” he said.
The Deccan Herald quoted him as stating that Governor was not taking any decision on petitions seeking investigation sanction against Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy and former BJP ministers Shashikala Jolle, Murugesh Nirani and Janardhan Reddy.
“After Jharkhand and Delhi, the BJP and JD(S) want to destabilise the government in Karnataka. We will fight against this,” he said. He was referring to the arrests of the Chief Ministers of Jharkhand and Delhi by the central investigative agencies, Enforcement Directorate.
Siddaramaiah emphasised that he has the full support of all Congress legislators, the ministerial cabinet, and the party high command.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar echoed this sentiment, stating that the entire party and government stand firmly with “my chief minister.”
“He has done nothing wrong. This is a politically motivated issue. We will protest, go to court, and pursue all legal remedies. The entire state and our party workers will protest against the governor’s stance,” he told ANI.
The controversy stems from a complaint filed by activist TJ Abraham on July 26, seeking sanction for prosecution against Siddaramaiah. The government responded to the complaint, but the governor issued a notice shortly after receiving a report from the chief secretary later that day.
On August 1, the Karnataka council of ministers, led by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, decided to strongly urge Governor Gehlot to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The BJP has alleged that Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi, received undue benefits from MUDA’s actions, including a questionable land purchase by her brother and the allocation of compensatory sites by MUDA, which they claim was done irregularly.
However, the state government insists that the compensation was issued in accordance with the prescribed rules, with no irregularities in the process.
There has been a flurry of statements from Karnataka Congress leaders and ministers, stating that the move fell in the pattern of BJP attempting to “destabilise” opposition-ruled states.
The state health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said that MUDA “allotments in question took place during the BJP government”.
The #MUDA allotments in question took place during the BJP government. But now, the BJP is trying to tarnish the reputation of our Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri @siddaramaiah. This is merely their tactic to intimidate opposition-ruled states and destabilize governments.
The facts…
— Dinesh Gundu Rao/ದಿನೇಶ್ ಗುಂಡೂರಾವ್ (@dineshgrao) August 17, 2024
“Raj Bhavan is being misused as the BJP’s tool to undermine a democratically elected government. The Constitutional head of the State is sparking a constitutional crisis to appease his political masters,” wrote Karnataka IT Minister, Priyank Kharge.
