'I have done no wrong to resign': Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Guv's sanction to prosecute him
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday ruled out his resignation, following the Governor granting sanction to prosecute him, in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', and said he had done no wrong to step down.
Terming Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's decision as "anti-Constitution and against law", he said. It will be questioned in court and that he will battle it out legally.
"It is a big conspiracy to dislodge the elected government. They (BJP) have done this in several states including Delhi, Jharkhand. A conspiracy has been designed to destabilise the elected government in Karnataka also. The Central government, BJP, JD(S) and others are involved in this conspiracy," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
"High command (of Congress) is with me, the entire Cabinet and the government is with me. All Congress MLAs, MLCs, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members are with me....I have done no wrong to resign," he asserted.
ALSO READ: BJP seeks Siddaramaiah's resignation for impartial probe against him in MUDA 'scam'
Accusing the opposition of wrong doings and behaving illegally and anti-Constitutionally, he further said, "They are using Raj Bhavan as a political pawn. The Governor is functioning like a puppet in the hands of the Central government."
The Governor has accorded sanction against the Chief Minister under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions of Pradeep Kumar S P, T J Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna.
Stating that such a decision by the Governor was expected, Siddaramaiah said, "We had expected this, I too had expected this. When the Governor on July 26, the very day he received the petition, issued me a show cause notice. What does it mean?"
He said, "There has been a petition seeking sanction for prosecution against JD(S) leader (now Union Minister) H D Kumaraswamy since November, also there are petitions against former BJP Ministers Shahshikala Jolle, Murugesh Nirani, and Janardhana Reddy. Leaving all of them, if the notice was issued to me, what does it mean?"
"In November, sanction was sought against Kumaraswamy (also former CM) by Lokayukta in an alleged case regarding issue of mining licences, after an inquiry. He was not issued a notice. What does it mean -- that the notice is issued to me (by the Governor)? It is a big conspiracy," he added.
Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, Governor Gehlot had issued a "show cause notice" on July 26 directing the Chief Minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days as to why permission for prosecution should not be granted against him.
The Karnataka government had on August 1 "strongly advised" the Governor to withdraw his "show cause notice" to the Chief Minister and alleged "gross misuse of the Constitutional Office '' of the Governor. It had also advised him to reject the said application by denying prior approval and sanction as requested by the petitioner Abraham.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
