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.

Mr 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.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

“I am not afraid…” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declared Wednesday, shortly after a trial court said a police case must be filed against him – based on a complaint by activist Snehamayi Krishna – in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority land scam case.

Earlier today the Special Court of the People’s Representatives had directed the state’s Lokayukta to conduct an inquiry and submit a report in three months. The Chief Minister’s response was swift. “I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally.”

However, the activist whose complaint will feed the case against the Chief Minister is not fully satisfied, and has said he wants the investigation to “happen by the CBI only”. “The court said the probe will happen by Lokayukta but, once FIR is filed… we will approach Karnataka High Court,” he declared. 

The Chief Minister will now face an inquiry into claims his wife, Parvathi, was allotted multiple plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere – an exchange that allegedly cost the state losses of at least Rs 4,000 crore – taken for infrastructure projects.

Siddaramaiah has firmly denied the charge; last month he said he had not done anything illegal in a political career spanning four decades, and expressed confidence the judiciary would absolve him.

This is the second setback to the Congress leader in as many days; on Tuesday the High Court dismissed his challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot sanctioning his prosecution in the MUDA case. Siddaramaiah argued Mr Gehlot did not “apply his mind”, but the court disagreed, ruling the Governor “did apply his mind in abundance”. “No fault in the Governor’s actions,” the court said.

READ | “Governor’s Action As Per Law”: Big Setback For Siddaramaiah

In passing its order, the High Court also rolled back its August 19 order to the trial court – to not take action against the Chief Minister till his petition claiming Mr Gehlot’s action as “illegal” is settled.

After the order Siddaramaiah underlined his confidence in the judicial system and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “revenge politics”, stating, “I believe in the law… The truth will finally win.”

The MUDA land scam row has become a major flashpoint, with the BJP and its ally, the Janata Dal Secular, targeting the ruling Congress and demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation.

On Tuesday, after the High Court’s verdict, the BJP held vociferous protests across the state once again calling on the Chief Minister to quit. The party’s state unit boss, BY Vijayendra, pointed to the court’s ruling and slammed the Congress for saying the allegations are a “political conspiracy”.

READ | “Siddaramaiah Must Quit”: BJP After Chief Minister’s Land Scam Setback

“BJP has been relentlessly fighting against the corrupt Congress government… the High Court has clearly said the decision by the Governor is correct. The Chief Minister should resign immediately…”

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi called the verdict a “slap on the Congress government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah”. “The Karnataka High Court has answered all questions that were raised (and now) Siddaramaiah should resign, so an impartial investigation can be conducted by the CBI…”

Ramping up pressure on Siddaramaiah, BJP workers tried to gherao Siddaramaiah’s Bengaluru residence, prompting police – who had been placed on high alert – to take dozens into custody.

The BJP-Congress face-off over the MUDA scam allegations also comes as the two parties go head-to-head in next week’s Haryana Assembly election and the ongoing election in Jammu and Kashmir.

It also drew sharp barbs from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Haryana’s Sonipat this afternoon; Mr Modi referred to the Congress’ Karnataka government and criticised Siddaramaiah.

The Congress, meanwhile, has come out swinging in support of Siddaramaiah. The party has claimed a “conspiracy” against its Chief Minister, pointing to corruption allegations that have landed other opposition leaders – including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – in jail.

#WATCH | Bengaluru: Karnataka HC dismisses petition by CM Siddaramaiah challenging Governor’s sanction for his prosecution in alleged MUDA scam.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar says, “I am telling you again, there is no setback to the CM. It is a big conspiracy on all our leaders,… pic.twitter.com/VpLcSWUDyi

— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2024

Immediately after the High Court verdict Siddaramaiah’s deputy, DK Shivakumar, who is also the Congress’ state unit boss, said “there is no question (of the Chief Minister resigning)… he has not done anything wrong and is not involved in any scam. This is a political conspiracy by the BJP…”

Siddaramaiah has also been backed by his ministers, including Priyank Kharge, who is the son of Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge, and Ramalinga Reddy, who said his boss is “100 per cent clean”.

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Bengaluru:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot should function like a representative of the President of India and not the central government.

He said the Governor should not ‘pick and choose’ and be selective in the matter of granting sanction for prosecution.

“Governor is a constitutional post and we respect it. What we say is that he should work as a representative of the President of India and not the Central government,” Siddaramaiah said. 

Mr Gehlot on August 16 granted sanction permitting investigation against Siddaramaiah under 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and prosecution under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment ‘scam.’ 

The Chief Minister recalled that the Karnataka Lokayukta had sought Governor’s approval to prosecute Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy on November 23, 2023 in connection with Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals case but till now no permission has been granted.

The state ombudsman on Monday again submitted a proposal to the Governor seeking his permission to file a charge-sheet against Mr Kumaraswamy, who had allegedly granted mining lease to the private firm when he was the Chief Minister in 2007 in violation of law.

Siddaramaiah also pointed out that the Governor did not give permission to the Lokayukta to prosecute former BJP Ministers Shashikala Jolle, Murugesh Nirani and G Janardhana Reddy.

“On the other hand, T J Abraham lodged a (private) complaint against me with the Governor on July 26 at 11 am and 10 hours later I was served a show-cause notice. Isn’t it discrimination? That’s the reason that the Governor was told not to use ‘pick and choose’ and should not do it selectively,” Siddaramaiah said.

In his writ petition challenging the Governor’s order in the High Court on Monday, the Chief Minister submitted that it was issued without due application of mind, in violation of statutory mandates, and contrary to constitutional principles, including the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is binding under Article 163 of the Constitution of India.

Siddaramaiah, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, said the Governor’s decision is legally unsustainable, procedurally flawed, and motivated by extraneous considerations.

On the petition filed by him, the High Court passed interim orders directing the trial court to defer proceedings on complaints against him and further instructing that no precipitative action be taken pursuant to the sanction till August 29.

The BJP has demanded the Chief Minister’s resignation to pave way for a transparent and unbiased investigation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)