Done no wrong and won’t budge: Siddaramaiah

Mysore/Mysuru: Amid mounting pressure by the BJP-JD(S) combine on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to quit over his alleged role in MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority)  scam, the ruling Congress party Legislators, Cabinet Ministers and leaders threw their weight behind Siddaramaiah at the Janandolana rally organised by the State Congress as a counter to the Opposition’s Mysuru Chalo Padayatra from Bengaluru, at the sprawling Maharaja college grounds here yesterday.

Addressing the massive gathering, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made it clear that he had done no wrong in either MUDA or Valmiki Development Corporation scams and firmly ruled out any possibility of his resignation. Asserting that his 4-decade long political career has been devoted to ensuring justice to the poor, backward classes, Dalits, Minorities , women and farmers,has remained spotless, Siddaramaiah said “Let the BJP and the JD(S) join each other and take out as many padayatras or rallies as they wish. I will not budge to their demands of resignation”.

“What they hate is not me as a person, but the pro-people schemes I have implemented, the principle of social justice I believe in, my faith in secularism, my honesty and my transparent behaviour”, he maintained.

Dismissing the ‘false ‘allegations levelled against him by the Opposition as baseless, Siddaramaiah said his wife had been allotted sites by the previous BJP regime as compensation for 3.16 acres of her land on which a Layout was developed by MUDA. Though his wife had filed an application for compensatory sites in 2014 when he was the CM, Siddaramaiah said he had then instructed MUDA not to allot any sites as long as he was at the helm of the State.

Attacking Union Steel and Heavy Industries Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy (HDK) for his alleged involvement in Jantakal Mining scam, Siddaramaiah questioned HDK whether he was not ashamed to seek his (Siddu) resignation. Training his guns on opposition leader R. Ashoka, Siddaramaiah accused Ashoka of being involved in the land scam in Bengaluru’s B.M. Kaval.

Maintaining that the leaders of the BJP and the JD(S) were themselves facing charges of corruption and nepotism, Siddaramaiah wondered what moral right does the opposition leaders have to seek his resignation.

Referring to the showcause notice issued to him by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot in connection with a petition seeking permission for his prosecution in the alleged MUDA scam, Siddaramaiah questioned the Governor over pending requests for sanction of prosecution against H.D. Kumaraswamy and former BJP Ministers Murugesh Nirani and Shashikala Jolle.

Pointing out that the Lokayukta Police had sought the Governor’s sanction for prosecuting HDK and former BJP Ministers Nirani and Jolle, the CM wondered why the Governor has taken no action  in this regard, while at the same time, he (Governor) had acted in lightning speed in his case.

DKS trains guns on HDK, threatens to expose his denotification cases

The Janandolana rally provided a platform for Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar (DKS), who is also the KPCC President, to train his guns on Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK).

Threatening to disclose and make public ’50 denotification’ cases involving HDK, Shivakumar said he was tipped off by officials on the cases against HDK and he would soon gather information and expose his corrupt deeds and deals. The Lokayukta had also written to the Governor seeking permission to probe and question HDK, but he joined hands with the BJP to save his skin, Shivakumar said.

Continuing his tirade against HDK, the Deputy CM said that the Union Minister did not allow anybody in the JD(S) to grow and even Siddaramaiah who was the Deputy Chief Minister when he was in the JD(S) was not spared. Stating that none of the 17 MPs who were in the JD(S) when H.D. Devegowda became the Prime Minister in 1996, are in that party at present, Shivakumar maintained that the JD(S) is a party run by a family.

Shivakumar also accused HDK of foisting a case against his nephew Prajwal Revanna so as to ensure the political growth of his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.

Training his guns on the BJP, Shivakumar said the BJP had overthrown many Opposition Governments through ‘Operation Lotus’, but it cannot replicate the same this time around in Karnataka. He further said that the Opposition is under the delusion that it can bring down the state Congress Government, which is impossible, considering the fact that the Congress has a big majority with 136 MLAs, with a vote share of 43 percent in the 2023 Assembly polls.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala in his address, said Siddaramaiah has been working for the downtrodden, backward classes and the poor.