“No question of CM resigning”: Karnataka’s Dy CM DK Shivakumar on Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 17 (ANI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has ruled out the possibility of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah resigning amid demands for his resignation due to the governor’s permission for prosecution in the alleged MUDA scam and said that the Congress party and government solidly stood behind the Chief Minister.

“There is a conspiracy to misuse Governor’s office to destabilize Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka. There is no question of the CM resigning and our entire party and the government is behind him,” he said, addressing a press conference in Vidhana Soudha, along with his Cabinet colleagues.

Shivakumar accused the BJP of conspiring to destabilize the Congress government in Karnataka and misusing the governor’s office.

“Siddaramaiah is our Chief Minister and he will continue to be so. He will not yield to these pressure tactics. We will serve the people of the state together. The INDIA bloc has also expressed its solidarity with the CM. These are false allegations and we will fight it legally and politically,” he said.

He emphasized that the party and government stand solidly behind Siddaramaiah, and they are prepared for a legal fight. Shivakumar highlighted that the governor’s decision to allow prosecution without a preliminary investigation is unconstitutional and undemocratic.

“We will fight against the conspiracy to turn Governor’s office into BJP’s party office. The Governor’s office has given permission to prosecute the CM without any legal basis. We have faith in the law of the land and we believe the Courts will protect our interests. We are fully prepared for a legal fight,” he added.

“The BJP government in the Centre is not able to digest the fact that an OBC leader has become the Chief Minister of the State for the second time and hence it is going all out to unseat him. Our government gives Rs 55,000 crore to the people of the State through the five guarantee schemes. We will not let this conspiracy fructify. The Courts have directed the Governors’ offices in several such incidents in the past. The ruling of the Court in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Telangana, Punjab are an example of this,” he said.

“The Governor of Karnataka has taken an anti-Constitution and anti-democratic step today by allowing prosecution. We had given a detailed response on 1-8-2024 for the notice issued by the Governor on 26-07-2024. Our Cabinet also resolved to urge the Governor to withdraw the notice. The CM has not done anything wrong and we have communicated the same to the Governor and yet this decision has been taken today,” he lamented.

He also pointed out that similar cases involving BJP leaders have not been granted permission for prosecution despite preliminary investigations being completed.

“The Karnataka Lokayukta had sought permission from Governor to prosecute Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on 23-11-2023. The same Lokayukta has sought permission for prosecution against former minister Shashikala Jolle on 09-12-2021, against Janardhan Reddy on 13-05-2024, against former minister Murugesh Nirani on 09-12-2020. In all these cases, preliminary investigation has been completed before seeking permission for prosecution from the Governor,” the Deputy Chief Minister explained.

Shivakumar assured that the government will continue to serve the people of Karnataka and fight against the conspiracy to destabilize the government.

“The Governor is yet to grant permission for prosecution in these cases but he has issued a show cause notice within 24 hours of a complaint against the CM. This is not a conspiracy against CM Siddaramaiah but against a democratically elected government with 136 MLAs. This is an assault on democracy,” he said.

“This is clearly a conspiracy and the BJP is misusing Governor’s office to destabilize the government. Union Ministers HD Kumaraswamy and Pralhad Joshi had issued statements about 8-10 months ago about bringing down the government and now they are acting on it,” he said.

Asked if the decision to back CM Siddaramaiah was his personal decision or the Cabinet decision or the High Command decision, Shivakumar said, “There is no intervention of the High command in this. I and my Cabinet colleagues are fully united in fighting this.”

Asked about Governor pointing out that the Government, which has deemed the matter serious and ordered a judicial inquiry into it, itself is asking not to consider the complaint seriously, he said, “We will respond to the Governor’s observations within the legal framework. We will also respond politically.”

The MUDA scam came to light after a complaint was filed by social activist Snehamayi Krishna against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and nine others for allegedly forging documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).