Guv grants Sidda's prosecution

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.