Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court on Monday, August 19, challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's decision to sanction an investigation against him in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. The High Court has scheduled the hearing for 2.30 pm today, with Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing the Chief Minister.
In his petition, Siddaramaiah argued that the Governor's decision to grant sanction for prosecution was made without proper consideration and violated statutory and constitutional principles, including the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is binding under Article 163 of the Constitution. The petition described the Governor's decision as "legally unsustainable, procedurally flawed, and motivated by extraneous considerations."
“The Hon’ble Governor’s decision is legally unsustainable, procedurally flawed, and motivated by extraneous considerations, and thus the Petitioner has preferred this Writ Petition seeking to quash the impugned order dated 16.08.2024 amongst other reliefs,” the petition stated.
On August 17, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted permission for the prosecution of Siddaramaiah based on allegations by activists Pradeep Kumar, TJ Abraham, and Snehamayi Krishna. They alleged the allotment of sites by MUDA caused a significant loss to the state exchequer. The Governor's decision followed a notice to the Chief Minister, asking him to explain within seven days why he should not be prosecuted.
CM Siddaramaiah would be travelling to Delhi on August 23 to meet the high command leaders in Delhi and brief them about the overall political situation in the state. He will discuss the future strategy with the party leadership to counter the BJP's campaigns and agitations demanding his resignation.
Siddaramaiah will discuss with the high command about meeting President Droupadi Murmu and submitting a memorandum against the move of the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. CM Siddaramaiah has called party legislators' meeting in Bengaluru one day before the trip to Delhi on August 22. He is likely to discuss the matter with the party MLAs and seek their support at this crucial juncture and in his fight against the Governor's decision, sources said.
Siddaramaiah ruled out the possibility of his resignation and said that he would fight it out legally. "There is no question of tendering the resignation. I will fight it out legally in the court of law. It is the decision taken by the Governor. He has no authority, he has no jurisdiction, and it is unconstitutional and we will fight it out legally.”
"It is a conspiracy against the Congress government. The BJP and JD-S parties along with the central government have joined hands in this. The high command is with me, the entire cabinet is with me. The government is with me. All MLAs are with me," he added.