BENGALURU: The opposition BJP has decided to petition Governor Vajubhai Vala seeking permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the Arkavathy denotification row.
A senior state BJP functionary told Express on Tuesday that the party would approach Vala this week. BJP national president Amit Shah and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have already given permission to the state unit to petition the governor on this.
“Three top Supreme Court counsel had contended that this was a fit case to seek permission to prosecute the chief minister,” the leader said, adding that the counsel have also prepared a detailed note on the case to be attached with the petition.
The counsel, however, have asked the BJP leaders to restrict their case to 103 acres, and not the entire 541 acres allegedly denotified by Siddaramaiah. “They felt that there was a gross
violation of rules in the denotification of 103 acres of land to benefit a few individuals,” the leader said. The 500-page petition will be filed by a BJP worker or an RSS member.
Meanwhile, the BJP has been sourcing Google maps of the areas denotified in the last one decade. “If the governor gives his consent before the session begins in February, the chief minister will have to resign,” a senior BJP leader said, recalling how former chief minister
B S Yeddyurappa had to step down following his indictment by the Lokayukta in an illegal mining racket.