Siddaramaiah says wouldn’t resign, dismisses charges against him as conspiracy
Siddaramaiah’s deputy and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar also ruled out the possibility of the chief minister stepping down, calling the case a political conspiracy
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday reiterated that he would not resign while dismissing allegations of wrongdoings in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA)’s allotment of 14 sites to his wife a conspiracy of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“There is no question of resigning because I have done no wrong,” Siddaramaiah said. He asked whether Narendra Modi resigned when he was the Gujarat chief minister during the 2002 Godhra riots. “...[Union minister HD] Kumaraswamy, who is in Narendra Modi’s government, is on bail. Has he resigned?”
Siddaramaiah said he would fight legally. “I would not resign. Let them get Kumaraswamy’s resignation; he is on bail. He is in whose Cabinet...in which government? He should [resign first]. Did Modi resign? Despite hundreds of people dying, he did not resign. I have done no wrong. There is no need for me to resign.”
The comments came a day after a special court asked Lokayukta Police to investigate allegations in the MUDA case. Siddaramaiah was likely to challenge the single-bench high court order on Monday upholding the governor’s sanction to prosecute him.
On Wednesday, a special court ordered the Lokayukta Police probe against Siddaramaiah. Lokayukta Police said they were studying the court order and will decide on the First Information Report soon.
Siddaramaiah’s deputy and state Congress chief D K Shivakumar also ruled out the possibility of Siddaramaiah stepping down, calling the case the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) political conspiracy.
On Thursday, the BJP staged a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature and secretariat, demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation. “Two court orders have come against Siddaramaiah. When we first protested inside and outside the assembly, they termed it politically motivated. When the governor’s order came, they said it was at the behest of the BJP-led government at the Centre. Now the high court and special court have given orders...they have found truth in allegations and said they need to be investigated and the chief minister should resign,” said BJP leader R Ashoka.
