Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah reacts after Governor agrees to prosecute him in MUDA scam | News from India

In a development that could pose challenges for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday granted permission to prosecute the chief minister in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, sources in the Raj Bhavan said . In response, the Karnataka government announced its intention to challenge the governor’s decision by filing a petition in the High Court.

An order issued by the Karnataka Governor’s Secretariat on August 17 said, “As directed by the Hon’ble Governor, I am enclosing a copy of the decision of the competent authority regarding the application for sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah under Section 17 of the Act on Prevention of Corruption, 1988 and Section 218 of Bharathiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 for the alleged offenses mentioned in the petitions.”

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also reacted to the development saying that the entire Cabinet is with him. “The entire cabinet, party high command, all MLAs, MLCs, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs are with me…” he said. The Karnataka government said it would challenge the governor’s action in the High Court.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar today said the state government will throw its full weight behind Siddaramaiah. “We are with CM Siddaramaiah. The party, the entire state high command and the Cabinet are with him. We will fight it legally and we will also fight it politically… Any opinion and sanction given is against the law. We have made all preparations for of legal battle, this is nothing but a clear conspiracy against CM Siddaramaiah, who is leading the government for the second time.”

A complaint was earlier filed by social activist Snehamayi Krishna against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and nine others, alleging that they forged documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Responding to these allegations earlier this month, CM Siddaramaiah said, “In the MUDA case, everything was done according to law. I had no influence on the distribution of land. My wife was given a replacement land in 2021 during the tenure of the BJP government as per the law.”

The complaint accuses Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathy and his brother-in-law Malikarjuna Swamy Devaraj, who claimed to be a landowner, of wrongdoing. It also claims that MUDA created fake documents to get land worth crores of rupees. Snehamayi Krishna’s complaint raises several questions about these transactions.

The BJP demanded the return of the land given to the CM’s family, accusing Siddaramaiah of grabbing land that belonged to the Dalit community.