Congress Leader KC Venugopal Defends Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Against ED Allegations

New Delhi, India, October 1: KC Venugopal, the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), has criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Venugopal described the actions as a "pure vendetta" aimed at destabilizing a democratically elected government.

Venugopal stated, "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."

He further alleged that the timeline of the case reveals the ED's agenda. "Every Indian recognizes 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 realize 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," Venugopal added.

On Monday, the ED 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.

Earlier on Monday, after the ED's move, Siddaramaiah's wife approached the Mysore Urban Development Authority (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, Mysore Taluk, without proper land acquisition," Parvathi, Siddaramaiah's wife, wrote in her letter to the MUDA Commissioner on Monday.

Previously, on September 27, the Lokayukta Police filed an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment 'scam'. The FIR, lodged by the Mysuru Lokayukta 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 a prime location 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," RS MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

CM Siddaramaiah, however, has rejected all calls for his resignation. "Let them first demand the resignations of HD 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.