BENGALURU: Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday clarified that neither he nor his father and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda played any role in Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot issuing sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA site allocation case .
“It is slander to say that Deve Gowda or Kumaraswamy pressured Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get the governor to sanction the prosecution of the CM. Don’t we have anything else to do? Siddaramaiah was a victim of a conspiracy within his own party. Deve Gowda went to Shah to discuss the issue of ST tag for the Kadugolla community. I went too. Congress leaders gave this visit a political colour,” he maintained.
“Someone is pretending to stand with Siddaramaiah like a rock, and the latter is in a soup because of him,” he alleged.
Blackmail claims
Replying to the CM and Congress questioning the governor, since the latter did not give sanction to prosecute Kumaraswamy in an illegal mining case, despite the Lokayukta seeking it, the former CM maintained that the case is with the Supreme Court. He alleged that the Congress government and ministers were blackmailing him by digging up the old case of Sai Venkateshwara Mining scam, even as the trial was on in the Supreme Court. The Congress is insulting the governor, he added.
“In 2006, within two months of my becoming the CM, I was accused of collecting Rs 150 crore from mining owners. ‘CD Shiva’ tried to make a CD about it. In the Assembly, he said that the operation was a success. There was a great deal of discussion. I said that I will fight alone. Does Siddaramaiah remember this,” he questioned.
Kumaraswamy clarified that the Jantakal Mining case was dismissed in the High Court, and dared the Congress government to investigate the Sai Venkateshwara Mining scam and also go to the Supreme Court.
“When there were more cases against Siddaramaiah in the Lokayukta, he formed the ACB to cover them up. There is a lot about Siddaramaiah to be revealed,” he stated, adding, “I have not urged Siddaramaiah to resign as chief minister. He will not resign either. I know that. But the law will take its own course.”