Will resign willingly if need arises: Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Aug 21: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said he will willingly resign if the need arises unlike Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who found fault with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s permission to investigate and prosecute him in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority land allotment 'scam.'
Reacting to the Chief Minister’s allegation that the Governor was not giving consent to prosecute him, Kumaraswamy asked what stops Siddaramaiah from approaching the Supreme Court against him in connection with the alleged scam related to Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals.
Lokayukta's Special Investigation Team has once again submitted a proposal to the Governor on Monday seeking permission to file a charge-sheet against Kumaraswamy in the alleged illegal mining lease case.
ALSO READ: Governor can't 'pick and choose' and be 'selective', says CM on prosecution sanction against him
The SIT had first requested Gehlot's nod in November last year to prosecute the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, who had allegedly granted mining lease to the private firm when he was the Chief Minister in 2007 in violation of law.
The Chief Minister on Wednesday reiterated that the Governor sanctioned in haste investigation and prosecution against him.
Accusing the Governor of discriminating against him, Siddaramaiah said Lokayukta’s recommendation to prosecute Kumaraswamy has been pending with Gehlot since November 2023.
Kumaraswamy, the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, said he has seen the statements of Virajpet MLA and legal advisor to the Chief Minister A S Ponnanna and some other ministers demanding his resignation.
“I will willingly resign if needed, unlike you (Siddaramaiah) who found fault with the Governor’s permission to prosecute you and commented about the Governor in a derogatory manner. The Karnataka ministers should be ashamed for using such words against the Governor,” he said.
He said: “Don’t you think I could have closed the cases against me in 2018 when I was the Chief Minister?”
Stating that the ruling Congress is opening another case against him, he said he is not afraid of it.
Kumaraswamy said the Lokayukta report against him was sent to the Governor in November last year seeking permission for prosecution only after he started attacking the Congress government on a host of issues, particularly corruption.
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Jan Suraaj to contest all 243 seats in Bihar: Prashant Kishor
Purnea (Bihar), Sep 12: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday said Jan Suraaj, which is set to become a political party in less than a month from now, will contest "all 243 seats" in the Bihar assembly polls due next year.
Addressing a press conference in Purnea district, Kishor said the party will be formed on October 2 "with active support of at least one crore people of the state, which would leave no need for any alliance".
"Let me make it clear that Jan Suraaj will contest all 243 seats, not one less", said Kishor, who has in his earlier avatar handled poll campaigns of leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal.
A known critic of the much touted prohibition law in Bihar, the IPAC founder said the new party would "scrap the ban on liquor within an hour of forming its government".
"The prohibition law is nothing but a sham (dhakosla) on part of Nitish Kumar," he said.
He criticised the current prohibition as ineffective, claiming that it has led to illegal home deliveries of alcohol and deprived the state of Rs 20,000 crore in potential excise revenue.
Kishor accused politicians and bureaucrats of benefiting from the illegal liquor trade.
The 47-year-old said he is a believer in "kabiliyat ki rajniti (politics of merit)" and would not shy away from speaking against prohibition "like other parties which fear that doing so may cost them votes of women".
Kishor said he saw Nitish Kumar and his predecessor Lalu Prasad as responsible for Bihar's plight though Congress and BJP too shared the blame.
"The Congress turned a blind eye towards the misdeeds of Lalu Prasad since his RJD was a valuable ally of the previous UPA government. It helped him remain in power though the RJD never had a majority in assembly", recounted Kishor.
He pointed out that "same is the case with Nitish Kumar whose JD(U) has never won a clear mandate. The BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is so fond of splitting other parties to form its own government in Maharashtra, remains content with playing second fiddle to Nitish Kumar in Bihar".
Asked about Rahul Gandhi's statement on reservations, which has drawn flak from the BJP, Kishor quipped, "I wonder if the Congress leader remains mindful of what he is saying. If what has been reported is correct, then he seems to be going back on the stance he had adopted during the recent Lok Sabha polls which saw him pressing the demand for caste census so vehemently".
