'Siddaramaiah will not resign'; DK Shivakumar against Governor's decision to prosecute CM Siddaramaiah, calls it unconstituional

BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar called the Governor's decision to prosecute Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the land scam case unconstitutional. Shivakumar told the media that the showcause notice was issued to settle political scores.

"It is unconstitutional for the Governor to permit to prosecute Siddaramaiah when the Karnataka Cabinet, which met on August 1, decided to reject the show cause notice issued against the Chief Minister. The notice was issued based on politically motivated complaints. To get permission for the prosecution, a preliminary investigation should have been conducted and the report submitted. But no such investigation has been conducted in the accused MUDA company”, Shivakumar told the media.

Shivakumar called the land scam case a conspiracy and said all ministers would support the chief minister unflinchingly. Shivakumar said that Siddaramaiah would not resign nor yield to any pressure.

Governor Tawar Chand Gehlot has been permitted to prosecute Siddaramaiah, the CM of Karnataka, for alleged irregularities in the allotment of land by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). The action was taken on a petition filed by three social workers.

Malayalees TJ Abraham, Pradeep Kumar and Snehamai Krishna filed the petition. "A copy of the decision of the competent authority on the request for permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Indian Civil Security Code is enclosed herewith as directed by the Governor," states the letter sent to the activists from the Governor's Secretariat. The chief minister's office confirmed that it had received information about permission to prosecute.