Bengaluru: The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Monday held a statewide protest against Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s permission for an inquiry against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah into alleged irregularities in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) plot allotments. Congress leaders and workers staged dharnas, foot marches and rallies in district headquarters. They carried placards condemning the governor’s move. Congress workers also raised slogans against the governor.
Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar said, “The governor is making a case out of nothing. This is murder of democracy and we will oppose it.” Congress held protests in various parts of the state including Bengaluru, Udupi, Mangaluru, Hubli-Dharwad, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Tumakuru and Mysuru. The Chief Minister has said, “There is no case against me and the Governor’s decision is unconstitutional.”
Siddaramaiah alleged that the governor has become a puppet in the hands of the central government and sanctioning the probe against him was nothing but a sinister conspiracy to destabilise an elected government. Gehlot had on Saturday given the sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the MUDA land allotment ‘scam’. It is alleged that Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvati was allotted a compensatory plot in Mysuru whose property value was higher than her land which was ‘acquired’ by the MUDA.
