The Karnataka governor on Saturday sanctioned the prosecution of chief minister Siddaramaiah over corruption charges in connection with land allotment in Mysuru, prompting the ruling Congress to allege a “BJP conspiracy” and unite behind its leader.
Siddaramaiah has dismissed Opposition demands for his resignation, accused the Centre of using the Raj Bhavan “as a political tool” and said he and his party would take the matter to court.
The allegation is related to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (Muda) allotting 14 prime housing plots to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi in exchange for 3.16 acres of less valuable land the agency has acquired from her.
These charges have led to massive protests by the Opposition BJP and Janata Dal Secular. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s nod for prosecution is based on complaints from three anti-corruption activists.
The land acquired from Parvathi is in Kesare, on Mysuru city’s outskirts, and was originally bought in 2004 by her brother Mallikarjunaswamy. He gifted it to his sister in 2010, before Muda acquired it under a 50:50 scheme that compensates landlosers with half the area at an alternative site.
The complainants have highlighted that Parvathi has been provided with much more expensive land in the prime Vijayanagar area.
“I am prima facie satisfied that the allegations and the supporting materials disclose commission of offences,” the governor has written to chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh, sanctioning Siddaramaiah’s prosecution.
The sanction has been granted under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, relating to prior approval to conduct an inquiry, and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhitha, which deals with the prosecution of a public servant.
Siddaramaiah told reporters: “I haven’t committed any crime (that I should) resign.”
He said a Lokayukta request seeking sanction to prosecute former chief minister (now Union minister) H.D. Kumaraswamy in a case of illegal iron-ore mining was among a slew of such requests pending before the governor. (The Congress says these requests are mainly against BJP politicians.)
“No decision has been taken on those requests. But in my case, he (the governor) sent a showcause notice (on July 27) within 24 hours of receiving the complaint. Although we requested him to reject the prosecution request, he has now issued this sanction,” Siddaramaiah said.
“The governor is a puppet in the hands of the Centre. His decision is unconstitutional and against the law. So we will go to court.”
He added: “The high command is with me, the entire cabinet is with me, the government is with me, all the MLAs and MLCs are with me, and so are the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members.”
Deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar, also the state party president, led the cabinet members before the media to present a picture of absolute unity on the subject.
He accused the governor of having failed to conduct even a preliminary inquiry before issuing the showcause notice and now the sanction for prosecution.
