Hours after Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot sanctioned to presecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam, the chief minister called the step by the governor ‘unconstutuional’ and said that entire state cabinet is standing with him. "The entire Cabinet, party high command, all MLAs, MLCs, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs are with me...," he briefly told reporters.
He also rejected the allegations and asserted that his wife deserved a fair compensation. The chief minister further called it a conspiracy against him to destabilise the Congress government by unseating him.
"The Governor has become a puppet in the hands of the Central Government, granting prosecution sanction against me is nothing but a sinister conspiracy to destabilise an elected government. This is a direct threat to democracy. The Governor has been reduced to a political weapon by the BJP. They lack any moral right to demand my resignation. The BJP cannot stomach the success of our Congress government and the guarantee schemes that are benefiting the common people. We stand strong and united against this political vendetta," Siddaramaiah said.
CM Siddaramaiah said, "They (BJP) are not tolerating this government, my leadership. Because this government has implemented all the guarantee schemes. These guarantee schemes are for poor people of all communities, all religions. So the Central government is against social justice, poor people and our guarantees. The conspiracy is being done by the Central government, BJP, JDS and local leaders of Karnataka. I will fight it legally in the court because this is an illegal approval given by the Governor who is a puppet of the central government.”
Siddaramaiah to challenge Governor's action in High Court
Siddaramaiah said the Karnataka government has said they will challenge the Governor's action in the High Court. Earlier in the day, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scam, according to the Raj Bhavan sources.
Everything was done as per law: Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah, however, stated that everything was done according to the law.
Apart from him, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today said that the state government will put all their weight behind Siddaramaiah.
"We stand with CM Siddaramaiah. The party, the high command the entire state and the Cabinet stand with him. We will fight it legally and we will fight it politically as well... Whatever notice and sanction has been given is against the law. We have made all our preparations to fight it legally, this is nothing but a clear conspiracy against backwards-class CM Siddaramaiah who is running the government for the second time,” Shivakumar said.
DK Shivakumar also said, "...This is completely unconstitutional and against the law. There is a strong government led by CM Siddaramaiah. They (BJP) are trying to destabilise the government by using the Governor's office. This is unfortunate...My CM will not come under any pressure. There is no question of him resigning. He will continue in the post. We are all united, the entire party stands with him. He has not done anything wrong in any of his tenure. This is completely a political issue. The Governor's office has been misused by this BJP government...We will fight it legally. We have full faith in the law of this country and my government will be protected."
What is MUDA scam?
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 opposition cried foul and three activists lodged a complaint with Gehlot, accusing the CM of 'misusing' his position.
