Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of levelling baseless allegations against him due to his pro-poor, pro-Dalit and social justice stance.
Siddaramaiah's comments came in the backdrop of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granting sanction to prosecute the CM under 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakasha Sanhita, 2023, on corruption charges in the MUDA scam.
The Karnataka CM was speaking at a programme to pay tributes to former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi and former Karnataka CM late Devaraj Urs on their birth anniversary.
Siddaramaiah said that it was impossible for the BJP to be with poor, backward classes, Dalits and minorities.
"Congress is always pro-women, pro-poor, pro-minorities and pro-Dalit. Since I am against inequality in the society and pro-poor, the BJP is against me and doing all that which should not be done. That’s why they make baseless allegations against me,” Siddaramaiah said at the Congress state headquarters in Bengaluru.
He alleged that the main opposition party in the state always wants the poor to remain in the same condition, and not become socially and economically strong.
"(Prime Minister) Narendra Modi says ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (Together with all, Development of all). But the truth is, for him it’s ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vinash’ (Together with all, destruction of all)," he alleged.
Siddaramaiah further said that the allegations made against him in connection with the irregularities in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) are "trumped-up".
The CM, in his writ petition challenging the Governor's order in the High Court, 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 Indian Constitution.
Siddaramaiah said that Governor Gehlot's decision is legally unsustainable, procedurally flawed and motivated by extraneous considerations.
The High Court -- on the petition filed by the CM -- passed an interim order directly the trial court to defer proceedings on the complaints against him and instructed that no precipitative action be taken against Siddaramaiah till August 29.
Notably, the Karnataka CM has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the MUDA site allotment.
The BJP, meanwhile, has demanded the Chief Minister to resign to pave way for a transparent and unbiased investigation.
