New Delhi: The Congress brass came in full support of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah after governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday granted permission to prosecute the CM in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam.
Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar condemned the governor’s decision, calling it “unconstitutional and against the law.” He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to destabilise the Karnataka government by using the governor’s office as a political tool. “My CM will not come under any pressure. There is no question of him resigning. He will continue in the post,” Shivakumar said in a press briefing, adding that the entire party stands united behind Siddaramaiah.
‘Political conspiracy against Siddaramaiah’
He further said that the case has no merit and described the governor’s actions as part of a broader political conspiracy against Siddaramaiah. “We will fight it legally. We have full faith in the law of this country, and my government will be protected,” Shivakumar said.
Echoing similar sentiments, Karnataka minister Dinesh Gundu Rao called the governor’s decision a “shameless step,”. “This is a shameless step by the governor. We knew that such a conspiracy would be hatched to punish our chief minister. We will face it legally and will not be scared of these tactics,” he said.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s reaction
‘Case would not stand legal scrutiny’
Senior leader Pawan Khera expressed confidence that the case would not stand up to legal scrutiny, saying, “The politicisation of constitutional posts has been going on ever since the BJP came to power. There is doubt and a question mark on everything. Whenever the governor does something, there is a big question mark over it… I am sure that there is nothing in this.”
Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge accused the Central government of orchestrating the governor’s decision, alleging that the Raj Bhavan was being used as a tool to undermine the state government.
BJP defends governor’s move
Meanwhile, the BJP defended Thaawarchand Gehlot’s move, with Karnataka party president BY Vijayendra saying that the governor exercised his constitutional powers.
“The Hon’ble Governor has exercised his constitutional powers and allowed legal action to be taken against the chief minister’s Muda scam complaint, by keeping enough records and evidence against the corrupt scandals of the Congress government and against the bias and corruption of the Chief Minister’s relatives @siddaramaiah has demonstrated that there is no one to shake him,” he said in a post on X.