Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot (in pic) is yet to decide on long-pending applications for prosecution of Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former ministers Shashikala Jolle, Janardhan Reddy and Murugesh Nirani.
| Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
Amid the imbroglio over the Governor granting permission for prosecution of the Chief Minister of Karnataka, ministers and all legislators of the Congress have decided to meet him on August 31 to urge him to give permission for prosecution of Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, former ministers Shashikala Jolle, Janardhan Reddy and Murugesh Nirani. The applications are pending before the Governor.
Speaking to press persons in Hubballi on August 30, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that a preliminary inquiry had been conducted by the Lokayukta against all the four and only permission for prosecution is required for filing chargesheets against them.
On BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra’s statement that Mr. Siddaramaiah would resign over the alleged MUDA scam, the Chief Minister said, “The issue is before the court. The court will hear the arguments and decide,” he said.
He accused the JD(S) and BJP of trying to destabilise the Congress government in Karnataka by conspiring against him. “BJP is trying to destabilise the government by offering money to Congress legislators. But they will never fall for it,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that BJP had never come to power in Karnataka by getting the blessings of the electorate. “They have always grabbed power through backdoor politics and ‘operation kamala’. “It happened in 2008 and then again in 2019. Yet again, they are trying the same antics, but destabilising the 136-member-strong Congress government is not an easy task,” he said.
On the meeting with 16th Finance Commission members, he said that the State Government had conveyed its stand to the Commission and also its demands.
“The government had protested against the injustice to Karnataka in the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. ₹11,495 crore recommended for release to Karnataka never got released. The allocation to the State had come down from 4.713 to 3.647, thus a reduction by 1.66 points. Because of all these reasons, the State has incurred a loss of ₹80,000 crore. During the meeting on August 29, the Commission members were appraised about the injustice. We are hopeful that the deficit in the grants will be rectified by the 16th Finance Commission,” he said.
On the Mahadayi project, the Chief Minister said that they were ready to begin the work as soon as Union Minister Pralhad Joshi managed to get the requisite permissions issued by the Central Government agencies.
On allegations of preferential treatment to actor Darshan in prison, he said that nine officials had been suspended. “All the accused in the case have been shifted to various prisons in Karnataka. Notice had been issued to the DGP (Prison) on the issue,” he said.
