‘Not about MUDA, but misuse of governor’s office’: Health minister Dinesh Gundurao

BENGALURU: Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao on Tuesday said that the real issue involved in Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s sanction to investigate Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam is about the misuse of governor’s office.

The minister’s remarks came as the Karnataka High Court is set to pronounce today its verdict on the petition filed by Siddaramaiah challenging the approval given by the governor for conducting investigation against him in the alleged illegalities in MUDA allotting sites to his wife.

“Here, the issue is not about the MUDA. It is about the way the Raj Bhavan and Governor are functioning and how his office is misused. And we are seeing it on a day-to-day basis now…The way he is behaving is awkward, and it is against constitutional norms. Now, whatever the verdict, the law will take its course. There is no problem about that”, Gundurao said.

“The CM is very confident about his innocence. We are very confident about his innocence. And whatever happens, we will face it. But here the situation is with the BJP, the opposition. The central government is trying to destabilize the government. They’re trying to create confusion. They want the administration derailed, and development doesn’t happen in Karnataka”, he added.

Justice M Nagaprasanna had reserved the judgment on September 12. The judge will pronounce his verdict at 12 pm today. While many senior lawyers, including Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, argued for Siddaramaiah, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued for Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. The advocates for the complainants, Snehamai Krishna and T J Abraham, also presented their arguments.

It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife in the prime location of Mysuru city. The High Court, in its interim order passed on August 19, had granted a temporary relief to Siddaramaiah by directing a special court in Bengaluru to defer further proceedings and not to take any precipitative action pursuant to the sanction granted by the Governor.

On August 31, the office of the Karantaka Governor told the high court in the state that the sanction granted to prosecute Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scam was done after “application of mind”.

In August, amid the row over Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot granting permission for the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, state ministers and Congress legislators conducted a ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ protest. The Congress has accused the Governor of discriminatory behaviour alleging that several other cases are also pending before the Governor, but he has not made any decisions on them. (ANI)