Bengaluru: Karnataka government on Thursday issued a strong advisory to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, urging him to retract his show-cause notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The notice demanded an explanation for not granting prosecution sanction in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam.
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, addressing reporters post-Cabinet meeting, condemned the Governor’s notice as a “murder of democracy and Constitution.” He emphasized the Cabinet’s unanimous decision to press the Governor to withdraw the notice.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who returned to Bengaluru late on July 31 after discussions with central Congress leaders in New Delhi, hosted a breakfast meeting for his ministerial colleagues on August 1. The agenda included the Governor’s notice and insights from his Delhi meetings.
The controversy revolves around the MUDA allotting 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, allegedly in exchange for land acquired from her illegally.
Key figures at the breakfast meeting included Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Home Minister G. Parameshwara, IT-BT and RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge, Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, and lawyer-turned Congress MLA A.S. Ponnanna.
Home Minister Parameshwara stated that the Cabinet would review the Governor’s notice and devise a suitable response, with the Chief Minister set to formally reply to the Governor.
Sources revealed that Siddaramaiah convened a late-night meeting on July 31 with his loyal ministers to deliberate on the situation.
During their Delhi visit, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar conferred with Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal and Karnataka in-charge General Secretary Randeep Surjewala. Central Congress leaders reportedly advised the Karnataka leadership to craft a strategy to counter the Governor’s move.
The Congress government’s legal team has been consulting with experts in Delhi to formulate a comprehensive legal response to the Governor’s notice.
Previously, Siddaramaiah met with Governor Gehlot at Raj Bhavan to discuss the MUDA issue. Additionally, Raj Bhavan had sought details from the Chief Secretary regarding the alleged MUDA irregularities.
In response to the allegations, the State government appointed a one-man commission led by retired High Court Judge P.N. Desai to investigate. The opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) also petitioned the Governor, and social activist T.J. Abraham lodged a complaint concerning the MUDA matter.
