A special court on Wednesday ordered a Lokayukta police investigation against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with an alleged land scam, reported PTI.
This came a day after the Karnataka High Court upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to prosecute Siddaramaiah in the matter.
The alleged scam pertains to the allotment of 14 high-value housing sites in Mysuru’s Vijaynagar area to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, in 2021 by the Mysore Urban Development Authority under a state government scheme.
This was allegedly done in exchange for 3.16 acres of land that Parvathi owned in another part of the city. The land was allegedly illegally acquired from Dalit families.
On Wednesday, a special court directed the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to start its investigation in response to a complaint by a Right to Information activist named Snehamayi Krishna, according to PTI.
Responding to the order, Siddaramaiah said that he was ready to face an investigation and continue the legal fight. “There is no question of fearing an investigation,” he said in a social media post. “I am determined to face everything.”
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party President BY Vijayendra, on the other hand, reiterated his party’s call for Siddaramaiah’s resignation, PTI reported.
“The court might have asked Lokayukta police to probe, but we urge the CM – before he resigns – that he should order the investigation to be handed over to independent agency CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] for free and impartial probe,” he said.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging Gehlot’s decision to grant sanction to prosecute him for the alleged corruption. The sanction was given on July 26 following private complaints by activists TJ Abraham, Snehamai Krishna and Pradeep Kumar SP.
In his petition, Siddaramaiah contended that the governor’s decision was part of a concerted effort to destabilise the Congress government in Karnataka.
At the earlier proceedings in the High Court, lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the chief minister, said that the governor had issued sanction in a short two-page order without considering the merits of the case.
He argued that the order for the grant of prosecution was issued without the application of the mind and that it violated the constitutional principle of governors acting on the advice of the council of ministers.
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