BENGALURU: Congress leaders and members on Monday staged protests at Freedom Park in Bengaluru and across the state to protest against the Governor’s grant of sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA site allotment scam.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, speaking at the protest, said, “The people of the state have given us 136 seats under Siddaramaiah’s leadership and my guidance. The British ruled for 200 years, but they could not defeat Congress. Congress is the party that has grown in this country. If anyone comes to power, it’s because of Congress. We have taught governance to those in power. The governor’s position is given by the Constitution and the Congress. The people taught the opposition a lesson and selected us. Now, what’s the point of creating a controversy? We must protect the Constitution”.
Further, Shivakumar said, “What do they know? Have they investigated and submitted a report? We won’t let this government collapse. We’ll continue our fight. We’ll support Siddaramaiah and tell the people. The BJP tried to bring down the government, but it didn’t happen, and it won’t happen in the future either. Now they are resorting to such means to uproot the government”.
Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao claimed that the alleged MUDA scam is a conspiracy hatched by JD(S), BJP, and Sangh Parivar. “Siddaramaiah became CM with the support of 136 MLAs. Not even the Prime Minister has campaigned as much as Siddaramaiah did, going from street to street. They suffered a huge defeat, and Modi’s reputation was at stake. The central government didn’t provide aid to the state, didn’t provide relief funds, and we had to get it through the court. This is not an easy decision. It’s an insult to the central government, and they can’t tolerate it”.
“Hence, the BJP is trying to spoil Siddaramaiah’s reputation. The people’s voice in the country is with Siddaramaiah, and no one can take that away. They’ve conspired against him. Despite all this, they’re trying to tarnish the CM’s image. We have to fight for the governor to leave Karnataka”, Dines Gundu Rao added.
Minister Zameer Ahmed, said there is no role of the Chief Minister in the MUDA case. “The Governor’s office has now become the BJP office. During the BJP’s tenure, 14 sites were allotted to the CM’s wife. The opposition is not able to tolerate the CM’s popularity, they are trying to destabilise the government”, he said.
“The BJP has never received a majority from the people. Kumaraswamy, who is now a central minister, is facing a mining case in which the Lokayukta had sought prosecution sanction, but the governor did not give permission. We have faith in the judiciary. Whatever BJP and JDS do, they cannot pull down the CM. The Congress high command and seven crore people of the state are with the CM. If anything happens, if there’s an attack, the governor is responsible. The people of Karnataka will not remain quiet”, Zameer Ahmed said.