MYSURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday asserted that he is not scared of notices and will face governor’s action and opposition attacks legally and politically.
Asked whether he is shaken by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s show-cause notice on the alleged scam in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), where his wife Pravathi as a land loser has been given sites under the 50:50 scheme, he shot back, saying, “Opposition leader Ashok should be scared. I am not scared of any notice. I have not committed any mistake, nor am I a direct party in the case.”
Siddaramaiah said he stayed away from the cabinet meeting and nominated Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to preside over it when it discussed how the showcase notice is illegal. His cabinet colleagues went on to appeal to the governor to withdraw the notice.
He said, “Social activist TJ Abraham (on whose petition the governor issued the notice) is a blackmailer, looking at his antecedents. He has filed similar cases against many individuals.
Centre using Raj Bhavan to destabilise govt, says CM
“Abraham submitted the petition to the governor’s office at 11.30 am on July 26. The Raj Bhavan took a hurried decision and called my secretary to take the notice the same evening to look into its legal aspects,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
He said, “Knowing full well that I am the chief minister of the elected government with 136 legislators, he should have legally vetted the petition before serving the legal notice. What prompted the governor’s office to make hurried decisions when complaints against former ministers Jolle, Murugesh Nirani and Janardhan Reddy are pending with him for years?”
He alleged that the Centre is misusing Raj Bhavan to destabilise the elected government and termed the show-cause notice unconstitutional. He charged that a non-issue without any substance is being blown up. The governor is becoming a puppet in the hands of the Centre, BJP and JDS, he alleged.
Siddaramaiah said the governor has not been advised by the council of ministers, nor has he gone through the details sent by the chief secretary. The government has constituted a judicial commission to look into the issue, and the governor should have waited for that report, he said.
Asked whether he apprised the party's high command on the issue, he said the party heard him and is aware of the developments. The party will not be cowed down by the padayatra being taken out by opposition parties, he said.
On Union minister and JDS state president HD Kumaraswamy joining the padayatra, he said Kumaraswamy has asked BJP to drop the padayatra because there is no substance in the case, it is raining heavily and farmers are busy with farming activities. He has not wilfully joined the padayatra and he will counter it, the CM said.
