Bengaluru: Congress-ruled Karnataka has joined the growing list of non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ruled states that are witnessing intense tussles between the Raj Bhavan and elected governments with the Siddaramaiah-led administration passing a resolution Thursday, asking Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot to withdraw his notice to the chief minister.
Gehlot had Wednesday issued a “show cause notice” to Siddaramaiah after the Raj Bhavan received a private complaint over allegations of corruption in allotment of plots by MUDA or Mysuru Urban Development Authority to the CM’s wife.
The Karnataka cabinet, headed Thursday by Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, said that Gehlot “failed to apply his mind to the facts” and acted “in undue haste, throwing to wind all procedural requirements”.
“The Hon’ble governor while proceeding to issue the show cause notice has failed to apply his mind to the facts of the case and not considered the material available on record,” said the statement of the decision taken by the cabinet.
In his letter, Gehlot had written that the allegations made against the CM were of “serious nature and prima facie seem plausible.”
The cabinet was held after Siddaramaiah hosted a breakfast meeting at his official residence, ‘Cauvery’, Thursday morning and decided to stay away from the decision taken by his council of ministers since the matter concerned him personally.
The incident has been used for political publicity, said Shivakumar, defending Siddaramaiah and setting aside his own rivalry with the 76-year-old CM, projecting a united face.
“Why was such a decision taken in such a hurry? In our experience, whichever complaint is filed, there needs to be evidence to prove the allegations before the probe report. Or a probe agency should have sought permission (to prosecute).
But in this case, there is a show cause notice issued even before the probe. This is murder of democracy and the constitution,” Shivakumar said.
The tussle between Raj Bhavan and state government is reminiscent of similar struggles in other places like Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and other non-NDA-ruled states.
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‘Centre trying to topple Congress govt in Karnataka’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), alliance partners and two main opposition parties in Karnataka, have continued to pile on pressure on Siddaramaiah, demanding his resignation in the two scandals that have emerged in recent months.
There is an allegation that over Rs 90 crore from the state-run Valmiki development corporation was diverted to private bank accounts and the other is that Siddaramaiah’s wife was allotted 14 plots by MUDA.
Siddaramaiah has denied and rubbished all allegations and the Congress has backed him in the face of intensifying protests from the Opposition.
The Congress has called this an attempt by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union’s conspiracy to topple the state government in Karnataka.
“They (BJP) are conspiring to topple a people-elected government. We will fight legally and politically against this,” Eshwar Khandre, Karnataka’s minister for forests, told reporters Thursday.
The complaint to the governor was filed by anti-corruption activist T.J. Abraham on 27 July.
The Congress has raised questions on Abraham’s character, motive and Gehlot’s rushed action in the case.
Successive governments in Karnataka are no strangers to allegations of corruption and tussles between the Raj Bhavan and Vidhana Soudha — the state secretariat. In 2011, Congress-led UPA government-appointed governor of Karnataka, H.R. Bharadwaj, had a difficult relationship with then chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa.
Amid growing allegations of corruption against Yediyurappa, Bharadwaj had recommended the CM’s dismissal. This was at the height of the illegal iron ore corruption scandal that rocked Karnataka and eventually led to the brief imprisonment of Yediyurappa and him stepping down as CM.
In 2019, Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala invited Yediyurappa-led BJP to form the government even after the Congress and JD(S) joined hands to prove a majority after a fractured verdict in that year’s assembly elections.
Yediyurappa was given 15 days to prove his majority but Congress knocked on the door of the Supreme Court and the former was given just two days, resulting in the shortest stint for a CM in Karnataka. This was at the height of the mass defections in Karnataka and the Congress alleged that the additional time would be used to poach more MLAs from Opposition parties.
“The governor, according to the Constitution, is supreme in the state. After that comes everybody. Laws become laws only after ascent is given by the governor. To such people, you are trying to teach them law. This shows their (Congress) knowledge of law. This is an attempt to wriggle out of allegations and pressure the governor,” R. Ashok, the leader of the opposition, told reporters Thursday.
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