Trouble mounted for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday granted permission to prosecute him in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 'scam', news agency PTI reported citing Raj Bhavan sources.
"The Governor has granted sanction for prosecution against the Chief Minister. It is based on three petitions filed by -- T J Abraham, Pradeep Kumar and Snehamayi Krishna," an senior official at the Raj Bhavan told news agency PTI.
The Governor's secretariat wrote to the petitioners about the decision of the component authority on the request of sanction of prosecution against the CM, under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 2018 of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences mentioned in the petition.
Following the Governor's decision, a special meeting of the cabinet has been called at 5 pm today. As per official and Congress sources, Siddaramaiah will put up a legal fight against the prosecution sanction.
Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist TJ Abraham, the Governor had issued a "show cause notice" on July 26, directing the CM to submit his response to the allegations against him within seven days as to why permission for prosecution should not be granted against him.
On August 1, the Congress government in Karnataka had "strongly advised" the Governor to withdraw the "show cause notice" to the CM and alleged "gross misuse of Constitutional office" of the Governor.
Siddaramaiah had repeatedly said that his government is ready to fight legally and politically, in case the Governor rejects the Cabinet's advice to withdraw the "show cause notice" issued to him, and grants permission for the prosecution.
Deputy CM DK Shivakumar had said that the Governor failed to take note that Abraham comes with criminal antecedents having criminal cases of blackmail and extortion registered against him.
It is alleged in the MUDA "scam" that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value in comparison to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA.
MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, the MUDA allotted 50 per cent of the developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had claimed that the Karnataka CM's wife benefited from irregularities in MUDA's land allotment, causing a loss of ₹4,000 crore to the state exchequer.
However, Siddaramaiah denied the allegations, stating that the land his wife received compensation for was gifted by her brother in 1998.
The Karnataka CM had previously alleged that he was unnecessarily being targeted in the case, claiming that a conspiracy is being hatched against him out of heartburn as he belongs to a backward class community and has become the chief minister for a second time.
“Haven’t we given it (MUDA scam) for a probe…..BJP is doing things for politics, we will have to do politics if they do politics. Let them do it (protest) under anyone’s leadership, let them do it under J P Nadda (BJP national president) leadership. If they do it, we will also do it politically. Can only they do politics? We also know how to counter it politically,” Siddaramaiah told reporters after BJP's claims on his involvement in the MUDA scam.
On July 14, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government constituted a single member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice PN Desai to investigate the MUDA 'scam'.
Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara, meanwhile, said that the Governor's office has been "misused" after Gehlot granted the sanction to prosecute Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam.
"It is clear that there is pressure from the top. There was no clear information that the CM had given any direction or even given oral instruction," Parameshwara told reporters.
"We had categorically explained with minute details following the governor's show cause notice, how he (CM) has been framed... even if the Governor grants permission then we naturally feel that there was a pressure from the top," he alleged.
Parameshwara said that the CM will fight it legally.
