Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that he will not quit office as he has done nothing wrong. The response came after Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted sanction for the prosecution of the CM in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam.'
Speaking to the media after a special Cabinet meeting, Siddaramaiah said that the governor's sanction is unconstitutional and that he is acting like a puppet in the hands of the central government.
“The Governor has taken the decision without having any authority or jurisdiction. It is totally unconstitutional and we will fight it out legally…. Because it is an illegal sanction given by the Governor who is a puppet of the Central Government,” the CM said.
He also said that the Cabinet termed the Governor's decision to prosecute him as "illegal" and "unconstitutional" and condemned it.
Siddaramiah ruled out any possibility of him stepping down. The response came after the state BJP demanded his resignation saying it is "crucial" to ensure "a transparent and unbiased investigation" into the matter.
"Tell me why and for what reason should I resign?... the Governor has to resign because he has acted as a puppet in the hands of the Government of India."
Meanwhile, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar also slammed the governor's move as "unconstitutional." He stressed that the entire cabinet and the opposition is standing strong with the CM and there is no possibility of him resigning from the post.
"The INDIA bloc has expressed its solidarity with the CM. These are false allegations and we will fight it legally and politically," Shivakumar said.
In a post on 'X',Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, called upon his party leaders and workers to take out a kilometre long march to the Taluk and district level offices and submit memoranda addressed to the President of India Droupadi Murmu against the Governor's move.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge however said that he had to see why Gehlot granted permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah while adding that "BJP-appointed" Governors are creating trouble for non-BJP-ruled States.
Meanwhile, Congress workers and supporters of Siddaramaiah staged protests in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and several other parts of the state against the Governor's move.
In Bengaluru, a massive protest was organised by Congress workers and members of 'Karnataka Pradesh Kurubara Sangha' demanding removal of the Governor.
Raising anti-Gehlot slogans, they burnt his effigies and carried placards saying "Remove Governor, Save State."
The Governor accorded the 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.
The BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA "scam" is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'.
The opposition BJP and JDS held a week-long 'padayatre' earlier this month from Bengaluru to Mysuru demanding the resignation of Siddaramaiah in connection with the scam.
(With inputs from ENS, PTI)