Confident that Guv will reject petition seeking my prosecution: CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he is confident the Governor will be "convinced", and will reject the petition seeking sanction for prosecution against him in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', as everything is legal and as per the Constitution.
Asserting that truth always triumphs, he said the opposition BJP and JD(S) are scared of him and his government as they are pro-people and poor, and hence are making efforts to destabilise it by making false allegations.
"When everything is legal, (the Governor) should be convinced... not hopeful, I'm confident that he will accept (the government's response) as things are legal. He (Governor) is the head of the Constitution, when things are in accordance with the Constitution, why won't he accept? I'm confident that he will accept," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
Asked if he suspected any political conspiracy as the Governor had met the Prime Minister and Home Minister in Delhi recently, he said, "I suppose nothing...."
"Since the Governor is the head of the Constitution, he will act according to the law," he added.
With the ball now in the Governor's court vis-a-vis the petition seeking sanction for Siddaramaiah's prosecution in connection with the MUDA site allotment 'scam', all eyes are on the Raj Bhavan, as to what decision Thaawarchand Gehlot takes.
Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the Governor had issued "showcause 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 on August 1 "strongly advised" the Governor to withdraw his "showcause notice" and alleged "gross misuse of the Constitutional Office'' of the Governor.
The council of Ministers had said a concerted effort was being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations.
Asked whether the Governor has given another notice to him, the CM said, "only one notice had come, for which we have responded."
To another question whether the Governor had called the Chief Secretary and sought explanation from her, he said, "I don't know. I only know that after taking charge the new Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh had gone to meet the Governor on his return from Delhi."
The BJP and JD(S) are on a week-long 'Mysuru Chalo' padayatre foot march since Saturday against the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites by MUDA to those who lost land to other development projects, including to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.
Claiming that the opposition was targeting him to destabilise the government, Siddaramaiah said, "They (BJP) tried 'Operation Kamala" (earlier), but were not successful, so now both BJP and JD(S) have joined together and are trying to destabilise the government, because Siddaramaiah is working for the poor, we are implementing guarantee schemes."
He said, "the opposition are unable to digest this, as they are opposed to guarantee schemes, from the day one they -- including the Prime Minister -- are saying that it cannot be implemented, and even if implemented it will be stopped."
Questioning whether the opposition will be successful in their attempts to destabalise the government with false allegations, the Chief Minister in response to a question said, "truth always triumphs".
"In BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's case (where prosecution sanction was granted in the past) money was taken through cheque, he (Yediyurappa) had denotified (land). What have I done? Are there any documents or orders or statements from me?" he asked.
In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife 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.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA "scam" is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
Noting that in 2014 itself, when he was the Chief Minister, his wife had given an application for alternative sites in lieu of her 3.16 acres of land acquired by MUDA, he said, "I had told MUDA until I'm CM don't give alternative sites."
"I could have given (sites) then itself, have I given? Didn't the CM have the powers? I could have given. In 2021 my wife again gave an application (to MUDA), the BJP government was in power then. How could I influence?" he said, adding that sites were given in accordance with law.
To a query that BJP-JD(S) 'padayatre' (foot march) has claimed that they will "overthrow the corrupt government," Siddaramaiah said, "Their governments were corrupt. I will tell (during August 9 rally in Mysuru) what all scams happened during their tenure, what stage the inquiry is. I will reveal everything."
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4 children test HIV positive in MP govt hospital; contaminated blood transfusion suspected
Satna/Bhopal (PTI): Four children suffering from thalassemia have tested HIV positive at Satna District Hospital in Madhya Pradesh allegedly due to contaminated blood transfusions, officials said on Tuesday.
The case is four months old and an investigation is underway into it, an official said.
Officials suspect the use of contaminated needles or blood transfusions for the spread of infection to the children.
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MP Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told reporters in Bhopal that he has ordered a probe into the matter and sought a report.
“It is also being investigated whether the blood transfusion took place in other hospitals also or only in the government hospital,” he said.
The affected children, aged between 12 and 15 years, received blood transfusions from the hospital's blood bank, as per an official.
Devendra Patel, in-charge of the blood bank at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel District Hospital in Satna, said four children have tested HIV positive and an investigation is underway to determine how they got infected.
"Either an infected needle was used or a blood transfusion occurred. These are the two main reasons I believe. Blood transfusion seems to be the most likely cause," he told PTI Videos.
All these children suffer from thalassemia, and some have received 80 or 100 blood transfusions, he said.
A family member of one of the affected children said that their child was found to be HIV positive during a routine checkup about four months back, and he has been receiving medication, but it had proven to be of no use.
After taking the medication for HIV, the child starts vomiting, feels low and becomes ill, he said.
After the four children were detected with HIV infection, their family members were also tested and the results came out negative, he added.
The Opposition Congress targeted the government over the matter and demanded the resignation of Health Minister Shukla.
Speaking to reporters in Bhopal, Congress MLA and former minister Sachin Yadav claimed such incidents were continuously occurring in Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, a case of toxic cough syrup came to light in Chhindwara, followed by incidents of rat bites at hospitals in Indore and Satna, and now children have been given HIV-infected blood, he said.
"The health minister is unable to manage the department. He should resign. A murder case should be filed against those responsible for the Satna incident," Yadav said.
Senior Congress leader Sajjan Singh Verma termed it a failure of the government. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government has no connection with ground realities, he charged.
"Somewhere rats are roaming in hospitals, somewhere children are being given HIV-infected blood. Instead of preventing HIV, you are spreading it. Mohan Yadav should wake up from his slumber. Children are the nation's heritage and should be taken care of," he added.
