‘Pure vendetta to destabilise Karnataka govt’: Congress’ Venugopal on ED probe against CM Siddaramaiah

NEW DELHI: All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal has described the Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in connection with the alleged MUDA site scam, as “pure vendetta” aimed at destabilising a democratically elected government.

“The ED proceedings against Karnataka CM Sh. Siddaramaiah are a clear vendetta to undermine a democratically elected, pro-people government. The sequence begins with a private complaint, swiftly acted upon by the Governor (beyond his constitutional authority), followed by the Lokayukta filing an FIR, which is immediately succeeded by an ED case”, Venugopal stated in a post on X on Monday.

The ED proceedings against Karnataka CM Sh. Siddaramaiah are pure vendetta to destabilise a democratically elected, pro-people government.

First comes a private complaint, which is swiftly acted upon by the Governor (beyond his constitutional authority), and then the Lokayukta…

— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) September 30, 2024

He alleged that the case’s timeline clearly reveals the ED’s agenda. “Every Indian recognises that ED/CBI actions signify intimidation and political harassment. The entire case against Siddaramaiah ji is fabricated, intended to oust him. In a federal democracy, such overtly unconstitutional acts will not be tolerated. Mr Modi should realise that we will not accept this passively. We will fight you tooth and nail, and the people will further reject you for this assault on democracy”, he added.

The ED on Monday registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the alleged money laundering case against Siddaramaiah.

Meanwhile, Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, affirmed that the Karnataka Chief Minister will be proven innocent. “It’s well known that the ED has become a tool for the non-biological Prime Minister to harass political opponents and pursue a politics of vengeance. In May 2023, the people of Karnataka decisively rejected him. He is unable to move past that humiliation. The Congress believes that he and his ED will soon be fully exposed. We have nothing to fear. The Karnataka Chief Minister will be proven innocent”, Ramesh posted on X.

ಮೈಸೂರಿನ ಮುಡಾ ಭೂಸ್ವಾಧೀನ ನಡೆಸದೆ ವಶಕ್ಕೆ ಪಡೆದಿದ್ದ ಜಮೀನಿಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀಡಿದ್ದ ನಿವೇಶನಗಳನ್ನು ನನ್ನ ಪತ್ನಿ ಪಾರ್ವತಿ ಹಿಂದಿರುಗಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ನನ್ನ ವಿರುದ್ದ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ದ್ವೇಷ ಸಾಧನೆಗಾಗಿ ವಿರೋಧ ಪಕ್ಷಗಳು ಸುಳ್ಳು ದೂರನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿ ನನ್ನ ಕುಟುಂಬವನ್ನು ವಿವಾದಕ್ಕೆ ಎಳೆದು ತಂದಿರುವುದು ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನತೆಗೂ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ.

ಈ… pic.twitter.com/tk0C69rL3w

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) September 30, 2024

On Monday, after the ED’s move, Siddaramaiah’s wife approached the MUDA Commissioner, offering to surrender 14 plots that were allocated to her by the authority. “The Mysore Urban Development Authority has granted 14 plots of various sizes in Vijayanagar Phase 3 and 4 as compensation for the authority’s use of my land, measuring 3 acres, 16 guntas, in Survey No. 464 of Kesare Village, Kasaba hobli, Mysuru taluk, without proper land acquisition”, Parvathi, Siddaramaiah’s wife, wrote in her letter to the MUDA Commissioner on Monday.

On September 27, the Lokayukta police filed an FIR against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in connection with the alleged MUDA site allotment ‘scam’. The FIR, lodged by the Mysuru Lokayukta police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 351, 420, 340, 09, and 120B among others, names CM Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law, and others as the accused.

It is alleged that MUDA illegally allocated 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife in prime locations of Mysuru city. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded that CM Siddaramaiah resign and that the investigation be taken over by the ED and CBI.

“In the case of Karnataka Congress CM Siddaramaiah’s MUDA scam, the manner in which his family amassed vast wealth through the misuse of land and government authority within the Mysore Urban Development Authority led to the court ruling, with CM Siddaramaiah named as the primary accused. The Chief Minister is the foremost and principal accused. Remarkably, no central agency has yet investigated this, nor has any application been filed independently,” Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

CM Siddaramaiah, however, has rejected all calls for his resignation. “Let them first demand the resignations of H D Kumaraswamy and others; why shouldn’t they ask Kumaraswamy to resign? Even Modi should resign in the electoral bond issue. They have exploited the electoral bond scheme and looted; in that case, HD Kumaraswamy, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Modi should resign first”, Siddaramaiah stated. (ANI)