The governor of Karnataka authorizes CM Siddaramaiah’s prosecution. Attorney General Siddaramaiah of Karnataka is being prosecuted for suspected misdeeds involving land distributions by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). The issue revolves around the compensated land parcels that Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, was given during his former tenure as Karnataka’s chief minister.
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun a campaign in which it alleges that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his government are involved in a land scandal and demands his resignation.
A “neutral, objective, and non-partisan investigation should be conducted,” according to Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, who on Saturday approved the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a case involving alleged corruption in the land allotment to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). When the BJP ruled the State in 2021, the allocation was completed.
The approval was granted in response to applications filed by Snehamayi Krishna, a resident of Mysuru, and Pradeep Kumar S.P. and T.J. Abraham, two social activists residing in Bengaluru. The Governor’s Secretariat sent a six-page letter to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on Saturday, stating that authorization has been granted under Sections 218 (for prosecution) and 17A (for investigation) of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023, “for the commission of the alleged offences mentioned in the petitions.”
The State Cabinet unanimously denounced Mr. Gehlot’s decision, calling it “illegal, unconstitutional, and against the spirit of democracy and federalism,” during an emergency meeting that Mr. Siddaramaiah led later on Saturday. The CM expressed gratitude to his Cabinet colleagues for showing total support for him.
What is MUDA land scam of Karnataka?
The 3.16-acre plot of land in dispute is situated in the village of Kesare. It was given to Mallikarjuna Swamy Devaraj, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law, in 2005 after it was previously owned by someone else. Although the land was listed as having been purchased in 1998, activists claimed that Mallikarjuna had unlawfully acquired it in 2004 using fraudulent paperwork with the help of government officials.
Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi requested for compensation for this land in 2014, when he was Karnataka’s chief minister. The 50:50 program of MUDA offers 50% developed land to people who leave undeveloped land they have purchased.
The Lokayukta has authorized the prosecution of Siddaramaiah by the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, on the basis of petitions from campaigners TJ Abraham, Pradeep Kumar, and Snehamayi Krishna.
In 1998, CM Siddaramaiah claimed that his wife’s brother Mallikarjuna had given her the land for which she was paid.
Activist Krishna, however, argued that Mallikarjuna had obtained the land illegally in 2004 and had used fake paperwork to register it with the assistance of tax and government authorities.Rejecting these claims as “politically motivated,” Siddaramaiah claimed that his wife was entitled to the compensation she received while the BJP was in power. “If they say it’s illegal, then they (BJP) are the ones who donated the website. As previously said by the Chief Minister, “How should one respond?”
Governor’s power
The Governor referenced a 2004 decision on Madhya Pradesh issued by a five-judge Supreme Court bench in his correspondence. He claimed that the highest court had ruled that there would be a “complete breakdown of rule of law insofar as it would then be open for governments to refuse sanction in spite of overwhelming material showing that a prime facie case is made” if Governors did not exercise their discretion based on facts and circumstances.
“It appears to me that there are two versions in regard to the same set of facts after reading the petition, the materials supporting the allegations in the petitions, Sri Siddaramaiah’s subsequent reply, the advice of the State cabinet, and the legal opinion,” the governor stated. It is imperative that an impartial, objective, and nonpartisan inquiry be carried out. I am first convinced that the accusations and the corroborating documentation reveal the commission of offenses. I am confident that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah can be sanctioned in light of the charges,” he continued.
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