Karnataka CM will explore other possibilities: Congress' Shama Mohamed on High Court's MUDA scam verdict
Sep 24, 2024
New Delhi [India], September 24 : Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies after the Karnataka High Court's decision against chief minister Siddaramaiah over the MUDA scam.
Shama also said that when MUDA distributed lands, many leaders from the JDS and BJP had also got it.
"When this land was distributed, many leaders from the JDS and BJP got it. It happened during the BJP's rule in Karnataka. There was a judgement today, but the CM of Karnataka will explore other possibilities. It is not the end of the road. BJP saying 'Satyameva Jayate'--I want to laugh at it. We know who a convicted CM was, and that was B. S. Yediyurappa, convicted for corruption. What did he do? He left the party, but they called him back. Who is the president of the BJP in Karnataka, his son? They just have to keep quiet, we will take care of our problems," she said.
Meanwhile, demanding the resignation of Siddaramaiah, BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar lashed out at the Congress party and said that Karnataka CM is continuing the tradition of the Congress party (under Rahul Gandhi) of enriching themselves and the family after coming into government by making fake promises.
BJP MP Jagadish Shettar has demanded an "impartial" investigation against Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA land allotment case.
Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra also demanded Siddaramaiah's resignation after the High Court dismissed his plea challenging Governor's sanction to prosecute him in the alleged MUDA land allotment scam.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has demanded a CBI inquiry, urging Siddaramaiah to step down as the Chief Minister.
"There are more than 500-1000 sites allocated to other people also illegally. Most of them have happened in the last few months and hence they have to be investigated. Henceforth, the Chief Minister of Karnataka has to resign for the investigation to be conducted impartially," Joshi said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that he is not scared of the BJP and JD(S) conspiracy and will discuss with legal experts & ministers how to fight this.
"They might have succeeded in the past, but not this time. It is not a prosecution. I will discuss with legal experts and ministers how to fight this, and take a further call. We will not be scared of BJP and JD(S) conspiracy, as well as that of the Governor's office. People have blessed us. I have their blessing. I also have the high command and party leaders backing me," he said.
However, despite the adverse verdict from the Karnataka High Court on the Governor's nod to sanction prosecution against Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that there is no question of resignation and this is "political conspiracy" by the BJP.
Speaking to reporters, DK Shivakumar said, "There is no question (of resignation) by CM. He has not done anything wrong. He is not involved with any scam. This is a political conspiracy by the BJP to all of us, to all the opposition leaders of the country...so there is no question of why Chief Minister done anything wrong, they are creating problem. We stand by him, we support him. He has been doing a good work for the country, party and state."
Shivakumar further denied the setback to the Chief Minister and iterated that there is a "big conspiracy" against all the leaders of the Congress. However, he asserted that the party respects the legal system of the country.
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed Siddaramaiah's petition challenging the approval given by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for conducting investigation against him in the alleged illegalities in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) allotting sites to his wife.
In his judgment, the single judge bench of Justice Nagaprasanna said that the order of sanction for prosecution does not suffer from non-application of mind by the Governor.
It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in the prime location of Mysuru city. The High Court, in its interim order passed on August 19, had granted a temporary relief to Siddaramaiah by directing a special court in Bengaluru to defer further proceedings and not to take any precipitative action pursuant to the sanction granted by the Governor.