Siddaramaiah after HC setback in MUDA scandal: “We will discuss whether such an investigation is permissible”

Just hours after the Supreme Court dismissed his petition against the prosecution of the governor in the alleged MUDA allocation scam, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday issued a detailed statement, saying he would not hesitate to initiate an investigation but adding that he would “consult experts to clarify whether such an investigation is permissible under law or not”.

“I will discuss with the legal experts and finalise the details of the fight. I am confident that the truth will come out in the next few days and the investigation under Section 17A will be closed,” said the prime minister, who is under pressure to resign.

Siddaramiah called it “politics of revenge” by the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. “Our legal fight against this politics of revenge by BJP and JD(S) will continue. I have faith in the court. All the MPs, leaders and workers of our party and the Congress high command have stood by me and encouraged me to continue the fight for the law. BJP and JD(S) have resorted to political retaliation against me because I am pro-poor and fighting for social justice.”

“The MUDA case is just a farce,” the chief minister said, adding that the main aim of BJP and JD(S) is to stop the Congress government’s schemes that favour the poor and downtrodden. “The politicians who are demanding my resignation are the same ones who have opposed the schemes I have implemented for the poor and downtrodden of the state.”

“The same BJP and JD(S) leaders opposed the Annabhagya, Ksheera Bhagya, Ksheera Dhare, Vidyasiri, Krishibhagya, Pashubhagya and Indira Canteen schemes implemented when I was the first chief minister. The leaders who are plotting against me today opposed the SCSP/TSP Act. The people of Karnataka have not given the BJP enough majority to come to power on its own. So far, the BJP has come to power through Operation Kamala,” he added.

The Supreme Court order has given new ammunition to the saffron party. It has demanded Siddaramaiah’s resignation and a CBI probe against him. Former BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar attacked Siddaramaiah, saying he was continuing a tradition of the Congress party under Rahul Gandhi of coming to power on behalf of the poor, “making false promises but always enriching himself and the family at the end of the day”.

“The BJP is demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation to make way for a free and independent investigation into the corruption allegations,” the former minister said. “There is not a single Congress leader in Karnataka who is not involved in one land scam or another. The MUDA case is a very shameful example of how a sitting chief minister has misused his office to enrich himself and his family.”