‘Won’t quit, will wage legal battle’, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah facing probe in MUDA case

PTI, Sep 26, 2024, 8:14 PM IST

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday asserted that he will not resign, following a Special Court here ordering a Lokayukta police probe against him in a site allotment case, as he held consultations with experts to fine-tune strategy to wage a legal battle.

The Lokayukta police, meanwhile, are yet to register an FIR against the CM following the court order in connection with the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

Amid the ongoing land allotment row against the CM, and demand by the BJP that the case be handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation, the Karnataka government on Thursday withdrew general consent given to CBI to investigate cases in the State as it alleged that the agency was “biased”.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, briefing reporters on the decisions taken at a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister, ruled out any connection between the decision on CBI and the allegations of illegalities in MUDA.

Opposition BJP in Karnataka today staged a protest in front of Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature and secretariat here, demanding Chief Minister’s resignation, to which Siddaramaiah responded by reiterating that he will not quit as he again denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Terming the charges against him a “BJP conspiracy”, Siddaramaiah said he would wage a legal fight.

A special court here on Wednesday ordered a probe by the Lokayukta police in Mysuru against the Chief Minister in the MUDA site allotment ‘scam’, setting the stage for registering an FIR against him.

Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D K Shivakumar also ruled out the possibility of Siddaramaiah stepping down.

“There is no question of resigning, because I have done no wrong. This (charges against him) is a BJP (conspiracy),” Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

“….did the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi as the then Gujarat CM) resign in the Godhra incident as FIR was done (then)? (H D) Kumaraswamy (JDS leader) is in Narendra Modi’s government, he is on bail, has he given resignation?” the Chief Minister asked. “Have they given resignation? Are they not embarrassed? I will not resign. I will fight legally.” “I won’t resign, let them get Kumaraswamy’s resignation, he is on bail. He is in whose Cabinet, in which government? He should give (resignation first). Did Narendra Modi resign? Despite hundreds of people dying, he did not resign. I have done no wrong, there is no need for me to resign,” he added.

Shivakumar said: “I’m saying that the proposal for the Chief Minister to resign won’t come. This is a political conspiracy by BJP and JD(S). They are unable to digest the benefits of our five guarantee schemes reaching people.” The order of the Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, came a day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by MUDA.

The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs issued the order directing the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to initiate an investigation on the complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna of Mysuru.

The Lokayukta police are seeking ‘legal clarification’ to register an FIR against the Chief Minister, sources said.

“We have not yet registered a case. Some legal clarification is being sought, as the special court has passed the order under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) while it should have perhaps passed the order following procedure under Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita (BNSS),” a source in the Lokayukta police told PTI.

Meanwhile,a key legal advisor to the CM said consultations are on with senior counsel and experts on filing an appeal in the wake of court orders upholding Governor’s sanction for investigation against Siddaramaiah.

“So, an appeal has to be filed, where and when, and what action should be taken regarding MP/MLA (Special) Court , all these things we are verifying. Discussions are on with advocates and senior counsel. Our advocate in Delhi, who argued in the case (Abhishek Manu Singhvi), we will try to seek his advice, and thereafter in a couple of days, we will make our stand clear,” Congress MLA, senior advocate and the CM’s legal advisor A S Ponnanna said.

The BJP lawmakers and leaders who staged protest under the leadership of Leader of Opposition R Ashoka were later whisked away by the police in a bus, as they marched towards the Vidhana Soudha building, shouting slogans demanding CM’s resignation, allegedly with an intention to lay siege to it.

Speaking to reporters, Ashoka said: “….Siddaramaiah must resign and respectfully cooperate with the investigation. We are not saying the government should go, if not him (Siddaramaiah as CM), someone else. We want a fair probe, and government property should be protected.” In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by MUDA.