Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says he has Congress High Command’s support after Karnataka HC upholds sanction for corruption probe

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of revenge politics and referred to the MUDA land scam case as a ‘sham’ after the High Court dismissed his petition challenging the Governor’s sanction for a probe against him. The High Court’s decision has prompted calls for Siddaramaiah’s resignation from the BJP. In response to the scandal, Siddaramaiah said that the BJP-led Centre was plotting to punish governments in opposition-ruled states by misusing Raj Bhavan. 

“The MUDA case is just a sham. The main objective of BJP and JDS is to stop our government’s schemes which favour the poor and the oppressed. I request the people of the state to see the faces of those who are making false allegations,” he said.

“I will not hesitate to face investigation. I will consult with experts on whether such an investigation is allowed under law or not. I will discuss with the legal experts and decide the outline of the fight,” he added. The Chief Minister claimed that the BJP and JD(S) were using political revenge against him because of his pro-poor reputation and advocacy for social justice. He claimed that the BJP was plotting the demise of the Congress government in Karnataka because it was frustrated by its defeat in last year’s Assembly elections.

“The people of Karnataka have not given the BJP enough majority to come to power on its own. So far, the BJP has come to power by conducting Operation Kamala unethically. In the last Assembly elections, the people of the state gave our party a strength of 136 seats without giving any chance to Operation Kamala,” he said.

“Frustrated by this, the BJP and JDS leaders have taken advantage of Raj Bhavan and made false allegations against me to disturb our government,” he alleged. He claimed that all MLAs, leaders, and Congress workers supported him and pushed him to continue fighting for the bill. 

“Throughout my 40 years of political life, I have faced such revenge and conspiracy politics and I have been winning with the strength of the blessings and wishes of the people of the state. I am confident that I will win this fight with the strength of people’s blessings,” he said. “The same leaders who are asking for my resignation are the same ones who opposed the schemes that I implemented for the poor and the oppressed of the state,” he further said.

The Karnataka High Court today dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition to rescind Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s clearance for an investigation into the chief minister’s role in the alleged MUDA land scam. In its conclusion, the High Court stated that the Governor can make independent decisions if exceptional circumstances arise and that his order does not suffer from non-application of mind.

The bench stressed that the facts described in the plea required further investigation before it could be dismissed. In July, the Governor approved a probe into Siddaramaiah in response to accusations from three activists: TJ Abraham, Snehamai Krishna, and Pradeep Kumar SP. The lawsuit involves claims that Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, was given compensation sites in an upmarket region of Mysuru with a higher property worth than the location of her land, which had been acquired by MUDA.

MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio program in exchange for 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA created a residential layout. Siddaramaiah has refuted the claims against him in the land fraud case, while the BJP has sought his resignation.