The Karnataka High Court, on Tuesday, rejected Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's plea challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval for an investigation against him in a land allotment case linked to Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
Soon after the high court order, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the chief minister's resignation. However, several Congress leaders and state ministers extended their support to Siddaramaiah, who might face an investigation against him over his role in the alleged MUDA land allotment scam.
The Karnataka CM released a statement after the high court verdict and said that the MUDA case is nothing but a "sham" by the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) to stop the Congress government's schemes in the state.
“The MUDA case is just a sham. The main objective of BJP and JD(S) is to stop our government's schemes which favour the poor and the oppressed...The leaders who are asking for my resignation are the same ones who have opposed the schemes implemented by me for the poor and oppressed of the state,” Karnataka CM said in a statement on Tuesday.
The party's state chief BY Vijayendra welcomed the Karnataka high court's decision and accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of making “futile attempts to suppress discussions or protests related to the scandal.”
“With the Karnataka High Court, under Justice M Nagaprasanna's bench, upholding the Governor’s sanction for an independent investigation, the CM and the Karnataka government have lost their moral right to continue. The CM must resign immediately, respecting the verdict of the High Court,” read a post by BY Vijayendra on X.
Calling Siddaramaiah a “corrupt leader”, BJP leader CT Ravi said, “Law is same for everyone...After the Karnataka High Court's judgement, CM Siddaramaiah should resign...Every corrupt leader says that he will not resign.”
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar has retaliated to BJP leaders' comments and said that the HC verdict is not a setback to the CM and called the MUDA scam a big conspiracy against leaders.
“I am telling you again, there is no setback to the CM. It is a big conspiracy on all our leaders, including me which we have faced earlier,” Shivakumar told reporters.
Several Congress leaders and state government ministers came in support of the Karnataka CM after the verdict. Calling Siddaramaiah a clean-handed CM, Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “We don't find a Chief Minister like this. He is a 100 per cent clean-handed man.”
He also rebuffed the BJP's demand for the CM's resignation. “BJP people are the most corrupt people in India, there is no value to their words. Now, the single judge bench has upheld the Governor's permission,” ANI quoted Reddy.
"There is a double bench, full bench, Supreme Court. We will fight. The BJP doesn't have the moral right to ask for Siddaramaiah's resignation. Not only Congress but the entire cabinet, MLAs and High Command will stand by CM Siddaramaiah. Why should he resign? There is a denotification case regarding Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy, let them resign first," he added.
Governor Gehlot had earlier approved the investigation against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by MUDA in a prime locality.
Later, the Karnataka CM challenged the Governor's order in the high court questioning its legality. The court announced the verdict on the plea on Tuesday. The bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna had reserved the verdict on September 12 after completing the hearings on the petition in six sittings.
The alleged MUDA scam dates back to 2010. It has been alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in the prime location of Mysuru city. A 3.2-acre tract of land lies at the centre of the controversy. It has been alleged that the land was gifted to Parvathi, the wife of CM Siddaramaiah, by her brother Mallikarjunaswamy in 2010.
Parvathi requested compensation and was allotted 14 plots after MUDA acquired the land. It has been alleged that the plots allotted to Parvathi are more expensive than the land acquired by MUDA.
