Ready to fight legally and politically on Guv's possible nod for prosecution: CM Siddaramaiah
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the Congress government led by him is ready to fight legally and politically, in case Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot rejects the Cabinet's advice to withdraw the "show-cause notice" to him in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', and grants permission for prosecution.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "We have said that the show-cause notice has to be withdrawn. Also, we have asked for the petition by T J Abraham (activist) seeking permission for prosecution to be rejected. Let's see what decision the Governor takes. He has not made a decision yet."
"We are ready to fight legally...both legally and politically we will fight," he said.
Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the Governor 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 on Thursday "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.
The council of Ministers after their meeting, had said a concerted effort is being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations.
Earlier today, in Bengaluru, Home Minister G Parameshwara expressed hope that the Governor will not reject the Cabinet's advice to withdraw his "show-cause notice" to the chief minister.
ALSO READ: Cong govt will fight legally, Guv's possible nod for prosecution against CM: Parameshwara
He said, in case the Governor rejects the Cabinet's advice and grants permission for prosecution against the CM, the Congress government will fight it legally.
"As a Cabinet we have advised the Governor to withdraw his show-cause notice and to reject the petition seeking Siddaramaiah's prosecution by activist T J Abraham. I'm hopeful and don't feel that the Governor will do it (sanction prosecution), despite the Cabinet's advice along with facts," Parameshwara said.
"He (the Governor) might have some powers, but I don't feel that he will reject the advice of the Cabinet so easily. In case he still goes ahead and gives permission for prosecution, we will fight legally," the Home Minister told reporters.
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, and are demanding his resignation.
The Congress would unitedly fight against the BJP and JD(S)'s attempts to "destabilise" the Siddaramaiah government, the party said on Sunday, backing its chief minister, who is on the opposition's radar.
Congress said this after its general secretary in-charge of organisation K C Venugopal held a meeting with state ministers, along with AICC general secretary in-charge of the state Randeep Singh Surjewala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is also the party's Karnataka unit chief.
Venugopal 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.
According to party sources, 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.
Also, 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.
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.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'.
Siddaramaiah along with Shivakumar last week had met Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala in New Delhi and held discussions.
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BJP tops list of national parties with over Rs 2,243 crore in donations in FY 2023-24: ADR
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): The BJP received the highest amount in large donations among national parties in the financial year 2023-24, with over Rs 2,243 crore declared from 8,358 donations, according to a report by poll rights body the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report, based on data submitted to the Election Commission, highlighted trends in political donations above Rs 20,000.
The total declared donations to national parties stood at Rs 2,544.28 crore from 12,547 contributions — a sharp 199 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
BJP's declared donations alone accounted for 88 per cent of the total. The Congress was a very distant second with Rs 281.48 crore from 1,994 donations.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist), and National People's Party (NPEP) reported smaller amounts, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) once again declared zero donations above the Rs 20,000 threshold, consistent with its filings for the past 18 years.
Donations to the BJP increased from Rs 719.858 crore in FY 2022-23 to Rs 2,243.94 crore in FY 2023-24, marking a 211.72 per cent increase. Similarly, donations to the Congress rose from Rs 79.924 crore in FY 2022-23 to Rs 281.48 crore in FY 2023-24, reflecting a 252.18 per cent increase, the report said.
Over the same period, donations declared by the AAP decreased by 70.18 per cent or Rs 26.038 crore, while donations declared by NPEP decreased by 98.02 per cent or Rs 7.331 crore, it said
Despite the ECI's deadline of September 30, 2024, only BSP and AAP submitted their contribution reports on time. BJP submitted its report with a 42-day delay, followed by CPI(M), INC, and NPEP, which submitted it 43, 27, and 23 days late.
The report said 3,755 donations to the national parties were made by corporate/business sectors amounting to Rs 2,262.55 crore (88.92 per cent of total donations), while 8,493 individual donors donated Rs 270.872 crore (10.64 per cent of total donations) in FY 2023-24.
The report said that 3,478 of these donations were made to BJP (Rs 2,064.58 crore). The party received Rs 169.126 crore through 4,628 individual donors in FY 2023-24.
"The Congress received a total of Rs 190.3263 cr via 102 donations from corporate/business sectors and Rs 90.899 cr via 1,882 individual donors during FY 2023-24," it said.
The ADR said BJP at Rs 2064.58 crore received more than nine times the total amount (Rs 197.97 crore) of all corporate donations declared by all other national parties for FY 2023-24.
Prudent Electoral Trust donated a total of Rs 880 crore to BJP and INC together and is the top donor to parties that received the maximum donations.
The Trust donated Rs 723.675 crore to the BJP (32.25 per cent of total funds received by the party) and Rs 156.4025 crore to the INC (55.56 per cent of total funds received by the party).
Triumph Electoral Trust donated Rs 127.50 crore in four donations to the BJP, and Derive Investments donated Rs 50 crore to it and Rs 3.20 crore to the Congress.
Acme Solar Energy Pvt Ltd donated Rs 51 crore through five donations, Bharat Biotech International Limited donated Rs 50 crore in a single donation, Rungta Sons Private Limited donated Rs 50 crore through a single donation, and Dinesh Chandra R Agarwal Infracon Pvt Ltd donated Rs 30 crore through a single donation to BJP in FY 2023-24, the report said.
ADR observed that Prudent Electoral Trust's report declared contributing 31 donations worth Rs 723.78 crore to BJP, however, the party in its report declared receiving 30 donations worth Rs 723.675 crore.
According to the Jaybharath Electoral Trust report for FY 2023-24, it donated Rs 5 crore to the BJP. However, the contribution report of BJP for the same financial year does not mention this contribution, ADR said.
ADR recommended stringent enforcement of disclosure norms, including the rejection of incomplete reports and mandatory PAN details for all donations above Rs 20,000.
It also called for annual scrutiny of party donation reports by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and advocated for making donor details publicly accessible under the Right to Information Act.
It urged the Election Commission to publish information on action taken against parties failing to meet disclosure standards and pushed for the creation of an online platform to track report submissions and transparency.
