BJP, JD(S) trying to destabilise govt: Cong over opposition's graft charges against CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Aug 4: The Congress would unitedly fight against the BJP and JD(S)'s attempts to destabilise the Siddaramaiah government, the ruling party in Karnataka said on Sunday, backing its chief minister who is on the opposition's radar in MUDA and state-run Valmiki Corporation "scams".
"Everybody knows about Siddaramaiah's honesty. He is not a new chief minister here. Everybody knows about his career, where he started, where he is now, also his ideology and his background," Congress General Secretary in-charge of Organisation K C Venugopal told reporters here.
His comments came after he held a meeting with state ministers along with Congress General Secretary in-charge of the state Randeep Singh Surjewala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar.
Shivakumar is also the party's Karanataka unit chief.
The meeting comes in the wake of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot issuing a show cause notice to Siddaramaiah, which is seen as a precursor to giving sanction to his prosecution in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment "scam".
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The notice was issued on July 26 based on a plea filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham. The chief minister was directed to submit his reply within seven days.
Venugopal claimed the BJP and JD(S) are targeting the Congress dispensation and the chief minister as they are aware that the state government's guarantee schemes to address the concerns of the poor people will harm them politically.
"So they conspired and brought out some charges against Siddaramaiah and the Congress dispensation, thereby trying to destabilise the government. Unfortunately, the governor has become a tool in the BJP's conspiracy," he added.
The opposition BJP and JD(S) began a week-long 'Mysuru Chalo' foot march on Saturday against the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites by MUDA to those who lost land to other development projects, including Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi. The two parties are demanding the chief minister's resignation.
The Karnataka government on Thursday "strongly advised" Gehlot to withdraw the show-cause notice and alleged "gross misuse of the constitutional office" of the governor.
The council of ministers held a meeting on Thursday and later alleged that a concerted effort was being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political gains.
Venugopal on Sunday said the ministers have been told to visit districts and assembly constituencies and explain to the people how the BJP was trying to "destabilise" the government and end the guarantee schemes.
"We are very much concerned about the poor people of the state. We will continue with the guarantee schemes. We are really proud of the government's implementation of guarantees. This is what we have discussed and decided today," he added.
The opposition parties have been demanding Siddaramaiah's resignation also over the Valmiki Corporation "scam" that came to light after its accounts superintendent Chandrashekhar P ended his life on May 26.
Chandrashekhar left a note claiming that Rs 187 crore was transferred from the corporation's bank account, of which Rs 88.62 crore was "illegally" moved to accounts of "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank, among others.
According to Congress sources, Venugopal asked the ministers at the meeting why the Congress government has not been able to effectively counter the BJP and JD(S)' narrative, despite the opposition "lacking" any clear evidence.
Venugopal and Surjewala are said to have asked the ministers to strongly stand behind the CM and defend him, while also effectively countering the opposition.
Indicating the possible scenario where the government may have to legally fight the governor if prosecution against the chief minister is sanctioned in connection with the MUDA "scam", they assured the high command's support, the sources added.
Noting the BJP's "history in sabotaging governments", Venugopal alleged the last JD(S)-Congress coalition dispensation was "dislodged" by a conspiracy hatched by the BJP's central leadership.
"They are trying and targeting the current Karnataka government the same way with a clear motive," the Congress leader said.
He alleged that when former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna's sexual abuse cases came to the fore, at that point itself there was a conspiracy against the Congress government. "The BJP and JD(S) want to save their leaders' children which is why they are targeting our elected government."
Venugopal said the BJP talking about corruption is the "biggest joke".
"How many cases (BJP state president) B Y Vijayendra has against him? How many cases are there against Prajwal Revanna? Now they are trying to project them as the most decent people in the country and attacking the chief minister who has built his career by being amidst the common people of the state," he said.
"We know their intention. They want to finish a person who is standing for the poor people of Karnataka... By creating a perception that Siddaramaiah is corrupt, their intention is to target him and our guarantee schemes," he said.
At the meeting with the state ministers, Venugopal and Surjewala asked them to focus on performance, amid indications about the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle in the next couple of months, sources said.
Responding to a question, Venugopal said today's discussion was not about the performance of the ministers.
About the Union budget, he said, "Union Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) was elected (to Rajya Sabha) from Karnataka. Total discrimination. No BJP member is raising it in Parliament. It is a very sorry state of affairs."
Instead of coming forward to support the state, the BJP is trying to destabilise the government, he alleged. "But times have changed. The Central government is not as strong as earlier. Those trying such things (destabilising) have to think about it."
"The Congress is very confident. We will fight it legally, and such destabilising attempts will be explained to the people of the state with great vigour," Venugopal added.
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Constitution powerful tool to protect poorest section of society: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday urged citizens to protect the ethos of the Constitution and said the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited in the 75th year of its adoption.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society, and the stronger it is, the stronger the country will be.
In a swipe at the BJP, the opposition party also asserted that at a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, "our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant".
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the people of India should come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution.
"The 75th year of the adoption of the Constitution has begun today. I extend my warmest wishes to all Indians on this historic occasion," the Congress president said in a post on X.
"The Constitution of India, painstakingly and carefully drafted by our foremothers and forefathers is the lifeblood of our nation. It guarantees us social, economic and political rights. It constitutes India into a sovereign socialist democratic republic," he said.
Justice, liberty, equality and fraternity are not just ideals or ideas, they are the way of life for 140 crore Indians, Kharge asserted.
"Today, we recall the tremendous contribution of the Constituent Assembly and its prolific members. We are forever indebted to their vision and wisdom," he said.
Kharge said Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Rajendra Prasad, KM Munshi, Sarojini Naidu, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur and several eminent personalities were not just revered national icons but inspiring personalities who became the torchbearers of hope for generations together.
No mention of the Constituent Assembly should be complete without recalling the contribution of the 15 women members who provided equally important inputs for an inclusive India, the Congress president said.
"We must also not forget that the Constituent Assembly received uncountable suggestions from ordinary citizens which are a matter of record," he said.
The Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru and Ambedkar's momentous last speech to the Constituent Assembly form the Magna Carta in protecting the tenets of the Constitution, he said.
"We, the patriotic citizens of India, now have the onerous task of protecting the ethos of the Constitution," Kharge said.
"We, the people of India, should, therefore, come together to protect each and every thought expressed in the Constitution," he said.
In the 75th year of the Constitution's adoption, the struggle to defend India's inherent philosophy must be reinvigorated and reignited, just like the era of the national movement, the Congress president said.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said, "Heartiest greetings to all of you on Constitution Day. The basic spirit of our Constitution is that justice and rights should be equal for all. Everyone should get an opportunity to live with self-respect."
"The Constitution is a powerful tool to protect the poorest and weakest sections of society. The stronger it is, the stronger our country will be," he said.
"On this day, I salute the fighters, martyrs and every member of the Constituent Assembly who protected the idea of the Constitution and reiterate my resolve to protect it," Gandhi said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that freedom fighters and great people together created a Constitution that ensured freedom, equality, fraternity and justice for crores of Indians.
"Our Constitution is the protective shield of crores of Indians which gives them every kind of rights. Happy Constitution Day to all the people of the country," she said.
"Salute to the great ancestors, martyrs, revolutionaries and every member of the Constituent Assembly. This democracy and Constitution, obtained from their tireless hard work and sacrifices, is our pride. Come, let us pledge that we will protect it in every situation," Priyanka Gandhi said in her post in Hindi on X.
Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said India marks an important landmark as it celebrates the 75th Constitution Day today, a day when Ambedkar's revolutionary text was adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
The Constitution of India is not merely a document, it is India's soul and history of millennia in motion, he said in a post on X.
"A living document that gives hope to 140 crore Indians, the Constitution is what keeps the ideals of justice, equality, inclusivity and democracy alive in India," Venugopal said.
"At a time when those out to destroy the Constitution are showing insincere commitment towards it, our duty to protect it and fight for its true values becomes all the more relevant," Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh recalled two books on the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly.
Many books have been, and continue to be written on the making of the Constitution. But two have become evergreen classics, he said.
"Granville Austin's scholarly 'The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation' first appeared in 1966. He had got unprecedented access to the private collections of a number of key personalities, especially Dr. Rajendra Prasad and K.M. Munshi. He had also interviewed many members of the Constituent Assembly," Ramesh said.
B Shiva Rao's magisterial four-volume "The Framing of the Indian Constitution" was published in 1968, he noted. It has a very poignant letter from Nehru to Shiva Rao on writing a foreword sent just three days before the then prime minister passed away, Ramesh recalled.
Incidentally, Shiva Rao's almost now-forgotten brother Benegal Narsing Rau was a pivotal player in the making of the Constitution, he said.
