BJP’s CR Kesavan Questions Rahul Gandhi Over Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s MUDA Scam

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 25: BJP National Spokesperson CR Kesavan on Wednesday questioned why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has not sought Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s resignation after the High Court dismissed his petition challenging the Governor’s sanction to investigate him in the alleged MUDA scam.

“It was very shocking to see a beleaguered, lame duck Chief Minister Siddaramaiah desperately clinging on to his CM chair after losing his moral compass,” Kesavan said. “What was even more shocking and dismaying was Rahul Gandhi’s cunning opportunistic politics. Instead of asking Siddaramaiah to tender his resignation, Rahul Gandhi is protecting Siddaramaiah. Why is Rahul Gandhi tongue-tied? Why is he voiceless?” he added.

Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra on Tuesday demanded an apology from Congress leaders to Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot for maligning his reputation by accusing him of being a political puppet. “In light of the Karnataka High Court’s decision today, which upheld the Governor’s sanction to prosecute CM Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case, it is imperative for Congress leaders who criticised the Governor’s authority to issue a public apology. They did not just challenge the legality of the Governor’s actions but also maligned his reputation by accusing him of being a political puppet. Offensive terms like ‘Nalayak’ were directed at a Dalit Governor who was simply performing his constitutional duties,” Vijayendra said in a post on X.

He said that the High Court has now validated Governor Thawarchand Gehlot’s actions, “confirming that his decision to call for an investigation was grounded in legality and constitutional principles.”

The Karnataka High Court dismissed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s petition. In his judgement, the single judge bench of Justice Nagaprasanna said that the order of sanction for prosecution does not suffer from non-application of mind by the Governor. 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.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he is not scared of the BJP and JD(S) conspiracy and will discuss with legal experts and ministers how to fight this. The Karnataka CM further said that all the MLAs, leaders and workers of the Congress have stood by him and encouraged him to continue the fight.