Southern Lights | CM Siddaramaiah’s legal and political woes

The Congress has made it clear that Siddaramiah will not step down as CM. But there is pressure from within and from the opposition calling for his resignation.

The Karnataka Governor’s nod to prosecute chief minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam has deepened the fissures within the Congress party.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addresses a press conference after a cabinet meeting over Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's decision to grant sanction for the prosecution of the CM in the MUDA site allotment 'scam'. (PTI) (HT_PRINT)

What pushes the Congress further into disarray is the party’s inability to counter the opposition’s repeated attempts to target the government’s poor governance record.

“Although the senior Congress leaders in Delhi are standing by us, our damage control and headline management has been poor in the state. This mismanagement of the situation is taking the focus away from all the guarantees we have been able to implement so far,” said a senior Congress leader, who asked not to be named.

Soon after news of the Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s green signal to prosecute Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam was announced on Saturday, several senior Congress leaders visited the chief minister’s residence. The Congress high command issued a diktat to all the state leaders, particularly ministers to stand by Siddaramaiah. However, despite Priyank Kharge, Lakshmi Hebbalkar, Dinesh Gundu Rao, and DK Shivakumar voicing their support for their CM, the Congress continues to suffer from a perception battle.

What is happening in the Congress camp?

The Congress is fighting two battles — one, legal, and the other, political.

In response to the Governor’s nod to prosecute the chief minister in the 3.16 acres MUDA scam, the government filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court. In what could be a relief for the CM, the HC passed an interim order and paused further investigations by the Special Court of Sessions against the CM.

However, this relief could be only temporary as the agencies could challenge the order in the Supreme Court.

Politically, Congress leaders HT spoke to said the divided house within the party is what is giving the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) the ammunition to target the chief minister. The BJP has been emboldened by the Congress’ factions, the leaders said. “We will continue to fight the case legally and there is no question of the chief minister stepping down. The BJP is trying to follow the same playbook because they have run out of ideas to destabilise the Karnataka government,” said Nivedith Alva, Congress spokesperson.

Although the Congress has made it clear that Siddaramiah will not step down as chief minister, there is pressure from both within the party and from the opposition calling for his resignation.

A Congress leader, who is aware of the ongoing developments, said the names of two sitting ministers — Dinesh Gundu Rao and Ramalinga Reddy — have been shared with the Congress high command as possible chief ministerial candidates, the leader said.

On the other hand, the MLAs who are in Siddaramaiah’s camp have called for accountability within the party for not being able to defend the CM. The CM’s political aides have been receiving the party’s ire; Byrathi Suresh who was expected to handle this situation is expected to receive the short end of the stick.

What comes next?

The BJP and the JDS have been pressing for the CM’s resignation on moral grounds, citing former chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s resignation in 2011 when the then Karnataka Governor HR Bharadwaj had similarly issued orders to prosecute the CM.

BJP’s leader of opposition R Ashoka quoted the report filed by Lokayukta, then led by Justice Santosh Hegde. Back then, Hegde submitted his investigation report on illegal mining to the state government and the Governor. Citing that the state suffered a loss of ₹16,500 crore, the Lokayukta report indicted the chief minister.

In the Congress’ case, three anti-corruption activists - Pradeep Kumar, TJ Abraham, and Snehamayi Krishna - had requested Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for action against the chief minister. The Governor met TJ Abraham on Saturday afternoon before giving his consent to prosecute the CM.

The Governor’s action has given the BJP-JDS alliance a new lease of life, those in the opposition reckon. Given the altercation between the two allies, the recent yatra was not as successful, and BJP state chief BY Vijayendra was said to be unhappy with the outcome. However, the Governor’s action will help the BJP not just in gaining an upper hand over the ally but also manage its perception as a strong opposition.

“The CM has been involved in multiple scams and, therefore, the Governor has issued a carefully considered order. The legal implications have been considered. The CM did not even clarify his involvement in the assembly session despite our LoP repeatedly pressing for clarification. His position has been weakened and he needs to resign,” said Pratap Simha Nayak, senior leader of the BJP.

In the wake of these developments, political analysts said that the situation is expected to remain fluid for the next three to four months until the elections of the four states are over. “The BJP has now an upper hand in Karnataka and it would like this to remain until the Maharashtra elections are over. This is Siddaramaiah’s second term as CM and if he can see himself through this crisis, then the probability of unseating him would be lesser. This is what the Congress insiders fear,” said Sri Kumar Kannan, a political analyst.

Deepika Amirapu is a freelance journalist based in Hyderabad. Each week, Southern Lights examines the big story from one of the five states of South India.