I am not guilty, court only ordered probe: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Slamming the opposition for demanding his resignation, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that he is not guilty as the court has only ordered a probe into the controversial MUDA case.

“Kumaraswamy is on bail. Did anyone ask for his resignation? The court has only directed an inquiry into the MUDA case that does not mean that I am guilty,” said the Chief Minister while addressing a press conference at his home office ‘Krishna’ in Bengaluru.

He added that the court has given the verdict under 17 (A) of the PC Act, adding that the matter has been handed over to the investigation.

“Won't moral standards apply to Kumaraswamy? He is with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government. Why don't you (media) ask him? At this stage only an inquiry has been ordered against me. Why do you ask for a resignation at this stage? We will tackle it politically as it is a conspiracy,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the development would be challenged politically and legally, adding that the court has totally rejected the demand of the petitioners under the BNSS Section 218.

He said that earlier, the Governor had rejected the petitioner's demand of giving sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act.

“I am not afraid of conspiracy of the BJP and JD-S. The people of Karnataka are with our party and they are with me. It's not possible to dislodge our government through money power and Operation Lotus. They succeeded in 2008 and 2019. This time, the people of Karnataka have given us absolute majority to Congress. We have 136 MLAs on our side,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the conspiracy was hatched at the national level and they succeeded in sending some Chief Ministers to jail.

“It is not possible in Karnataka. People are standing with us like a rock. All party MLAs, MPs, MLCs, ministers and high command are with me,” said the Chief Minister.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that BJP and JD-S are conspiring against the state government. “We won’t budge. All party leaders and the government stand with the Chief Minister. We won't budge to any pressure,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

Earlier, the Karnataka High Court while quashing Siddaramaiah's petition said the beneficiaries in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case were not outsiders but the petitioner's wife.

The bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order upholding Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's decision.

The order of the High Court stated, "The facts narrated in the petition would undoubtedly require an investigation. In the teeth of the fact that the beneficiary of all these acts is not anybody outside, but the wife of the petitioner (CM Siddaramaiah)."

The order stated, "The complaints were justified in registering the complaint or seeking approval at the hands of the Governor."

Social activists Pradeep Kumar SP, T.J. Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna had filed petitions against CM Siddaramaiah in connection with the alleged MUDA land scam.

They had claimed that Siddaramaiah had misused his office to create fraudulent documents over 3.17 acres of land near Mysuru city and got 14 sites allotted from the MUDA in the name of his wife.