Following a court order in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case, Lokayukta police registered an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Siddaramaiah denied wrongdoing and said the case is politically motivated. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge defended Siddaramaiah and said he supported the party. However, the BJP has demanded his resignation.
"Acting under Sec. 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the jurisdictional police, i.e., Superintendent of Police, Karnataka Lokayukta, Mysuru is hereby directed to register the case, investigate and file a report as contemplated under Sec.173 of CrPC, within a period 3 months from today," the court had said.
FIR filed after court order
The Lokayukta police on Friday registered an FIR against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in connection with the Muda site allotment case. This followed a landmark court order directing the police to investigate the case, making it the first such "political case" against Siddaramaiah. His wife and several others are named in the lawsuit. The inquiry followed allegations that MUDA had allotted 14 seats to Siddaramaiah’s wife.
Siddaramaiah defends himself
Currently, on a three-day visit to Mysore, Siddaramaiah vehemently denied the allegations, said he had done nothing wrong and would not resign, describing the incident as politically motivated by the “feared” opposition parties. He assured his supporters that he would fight the case legally and expressed confidence that he would prove his innocence.
"Why should I resign? If one has committed wrong, he has to resign, When we are saying that no wrong was done, where is the question of resigning?" Kharge too rejected BJP's demand for Siddaramaiah's resignation, as he noted that "neither a chargesheet is filed, nor he is convicted," and said, "let the law take its course, and when a situation comes, the party will examine," said CM.
Congress backs Siddaramaiah
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge defended Siddaramaiah and criticised the BJP for demanding his resignation. Kharge pointed out that there was no charge sheet or conviction against Siddaramaiah and stressed that law must take its course. He also compared the situation to the Godhra case, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not resign as Gujarat CM despite legal challenges.
"When the Godhra incident happened, whether (Narendra) Modi ji had resigned (as the then Gujarat CM)? Several cases were also pending against him at that time, even against Mr Shah (Union Home Minister Amit Shah)," Kharge said in response to a question on BJP questioning CM's moral right to continue, with FIR registered against him.
"Now nothing is there, but every day I'm seeing that MUDA, MUDA. Crores of rupees (have been) swallowed by industrialists, Rs 16 lakh crore of their debt have been written off, and now you are taking one small issue and fighting. That too neither chargesheet is filed, nor he is convicted. Every day this is news. I'm fed up seeing all these things."
BJP protests and demands resignation
Amid the simmering controversy, the BJP staged a protest demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation, but the police intervened to quell the clashes. Siddaramaiah refused the call to resign as he maintained his innocence and law-abiding.
Also read | Karnataka govt withdraws consent given to CBI in MUDA case amid concerns of misuse of power
