Bengaluru: Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday granted sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment ‘scam’, giving a major jolt to the nearly 15 month old Congress government.
Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, denounced the Governor’s action and vowed to fight the move politically and legally.
The Governor accorded sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions of activists Pradeep Kumar S P, T J Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna.
The Governor’s sanction is expected to pave the way for investigating agencies to initiate a probe into the allegations against the Chief Minister.
In the MUDA ‘scam’, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
Opposition and some activists have also claimed that Parvathi had no legal title over 3.16 acres of land.
BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA ‘scam’ is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
Shivakumar slammed the Governor’s move as ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘undemocratic’, and asserted that the entire party and the government solidly stood behind Siddaramaiah as he categorically dismissed BJP’s demand for Chief Minister’s resignation.
“The INDIA bloc has also expressed its solidarity with the CM. These are false allegations and we will fight it legally and politically,” he said.
Siddaramaiah too ruled out his resignation and said he has done no wrong to step down.
Stating that such a decision by the Governor, who is “functioning like a puppet in the hands of the central government”, was expected, the Chief Minister said, adding, it will be questioned in the court, and that he will battle it out legally.
Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge said “BJP-appointed” Governors are creating trouble for non-BJP-ruled States. He, however, maintained that he had to see why Gehlot granted permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah.
Congress workers and supporters of Siddaramaiah staged protests in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and several other parts of the state against the Governor’s move.
In Bengaluru, a massive protest was organised by Congress workers and members of ‘Karnataka Pradesh Kurubara Sangha’ demanding removal of the Governor. Raising anti-Gehlot slogans, they burnt his effigies and carried placards saying “Remove Governor, Save State”.
Several of Siddaramaiah’s cabinet colleagues jumped in his defence, as they targeted the Governor and demanded his “call back”.
The opposition BJP, which has been agitating in the State for weeks targeting Siddaramaiah on the issue, on Saturday reiterated its demand for the resignation of Siddaramaiah, with its state president B Y Vijayendra saying it would allow a transparent and unbiased investigation.
Granting sanction, the Governor said it is very necessary to conduct a neutral, objective, and non-partisan investigation, adding that he is prima facie “satisfied” that the allegations and the supporting materials disclose commission of offences.
Gehlot also termed as “irrational” the decision taken by the Council of Ministers advising him to withdraw his show-cause notice to the Chief Minister and to reject the application seeking prosecution sanction.
Based on a petition filed by Abraham, the Governor had issued a “show-cause notice” on July 26 directing the Chief Minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days as to why permission for prosecution should not be granted against him.
The Karnataka government had on August one “strongly advised” the Governor to withdraw his “show-cause notice” to the Chief Minister and alleged “gross misuse of the Constitutional Office’ of the Governor.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA ‘scam’.
Opposition BJP and JD(S) had held a week-long ‘padayatre’ (foot march) earlier this month from Bengaluru to Mysuru demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation in connection with the scam.
Meanwhile, Pradeep Kumar, one of the complainants in the MUDA ‘scam’ case, on Saturday filed a caveat in the Karnataka High Court after the prosecution sanction.
Siddaramaiah is expected to approach the High Court to challenge the Governor’s sanction. “With the caveat now filed, the court will need to hear the arguments of the original complainant before reaching any conclusions,” a legal expert noted.
