‘Won’t Hesitate From Investigation’: Siddaramaiah’s First Response To HC Setback In MUDA Case

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday responded to the High Court’s order in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam and said that he won’t hesitate from any investigation and will discuss the matter with legal experts.

The Karnataka High Court dismissed the Chief Minister’s plea challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s sanction to prosecute him in the MUDA case. The single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the order of the Governor on August 17 approving the investigation and sanction for “prosecution of the Chief Minister in MUDA was not taken in haste”.

Reacting to the court’s order, Siddaramaih said, “Won’t hesitate from any investigation. Will discuss with a legal expert whether there is a provision for it. The court has restricted itself to the Governor’s ruling on section 17A.”

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by the MUDA.

While the BJP demanded CM Siddaramaiah to step down from the CM post, Congress stood firm on their stance and ruled out any need for his resignation.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that there is no question of resignation and this is a “political conspiracy” by the BJP.

Speaking to reporters, he 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 the Chief Minister did anything wrong, they are creating the problem. We stand by him, we support him. He has been doing good work for the country, party and state.”

The BJP, meanwhile, demanded the Chief Minister’s resignation and accused him of ‘looting’ the land which was meant for people from the SC/ST community.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonwalla said, “The Congress party must tell us after the verdict of the Karnataka High Court if is it tenable for CM Siddaramaiah to continue. Siddaramaiah must step down. He looted the land which was meant for people from the SC/ST community. Rs 5000 crore worth of corruption was done in the MUDA scam. Family and friends of Siddaramaiah benefitted.”