Bengaluru: Under fire from within his Congress party and outside over allegations of corruption, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seems to be following a three-pronged survival strategy—legal, political and backward class card—even as he has found support from an unexpected quarter, the opposition camp.
G. T. Devegowda of the Janata Dal (Secular) and S. T. Somashekar of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have come to the CM’s aide in recent days.
In what has come to be known as the MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority) ‘scam’, Siddaramaiah stands accused of using his position and clout to get high-value plots allotted to his wife, Parvathi.
According to Siddaramaiah, his brother-in-law gifted his wife 3.16 acres of agricultural land in Kerare village sometime in 2005 and this was “illegally encroached” by MUDA sometime between 2010 and 2013. In compensation, MUDA is said to have allotted 14 plots of land as compensation. According to Siddaramaiah, the original cost of his wife’s land was around Rs 62 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent of an FIR, against the CM and his wife in the MUDA case, and at least one of the complainants, Snehamayi Krishna, has been summoned by the agency.
“There is no need for Siddaramaiah to resign just because there is an FIR against him or his wife. The governor nor the court has asked for his resignation. The governor has cleared for a probe and the court has upheld it. Only after the verdict of the court should a decision be taken,” G. T. Devegowda told reporters Thursday.
He added that the people had given a majority to the BJP at the Centre and to the Congress in Karnataka and both should not “try to destabilise the other”.
Somashekar said the land was given to Parvathi during BJP rule in Karnataka.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said that Siddaramaiah has been targeted by the BJP with an intent to damage the CM’s image and that of the Congress.
Also Read: What’s behind Siddaramaiah’s invite to 8 CMs for discussion on fiscal federalism
Bid to ‘nullify’ case
On Wednesday, senior ministers from Siddaramaiah’s cabinet—Krishna Byre Gowda, G. Parameshwara, H. K. Patil and Satish Jarkiholi—addressed a press conference in which they tried to corner R. Ashoka, BJP legislator and Leader of the Opposition.
They alleged that Ashoka had in 2003 and 2007 bought about 32 guntas of land that was denotified and in possession of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) since 1978 from the original owner by way of a deed of sale. When the issue was raised in public, forcing a Lokayukta probe, Ashoka promptly returned the land, they added.
The point was to emphasise that returning land was “not an admission of guilt” and to give the precedent that Ashoka was cleared of any wrongdoing by courts when the land in question was given back.
Soon after the ED registered its case earlier this week, Parvathi had offered to return the 14 sites transferred to her by MUDA. The authority Tuesday decided to take back the plots.
Siddaramaiah’s legal team comprises senior Congress leaders and senior counsels Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, former Karnataka Advocate General Prof Ravivarma Kumar and his own legal adviser, A.S. Ponnanna.
According to people aware of the developments, the decision to return the land was purely from a legal—and also moral—standpoint that “nullifies” the need for further probe, especially by the ED.
“Assuming that there is some form of illegality in the purchase, conversion… everything is illegal and therefore it is a crime in some form, the buck stops at the 14 plots. The land was not sold off nor was it developed and revenue earned from it. So, when the plots are returned, there is no question of proceeds of any alleged crime,” said a member his legal team.
Targeting accusers
Since the graft allegations came to the fore, the Siddaramaiah government has sought permission from Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot to allow for the prosecution of JD (S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy in an old mining case; asked that allegations made by BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal against state party chief B. Y. Vijayendra be investigated; and has raked up other issues to hit back at those accusing Siddaramaiah.
The CM’s loyalists in the government and the Congress are also seeking to fight the war within, given the possibility of his deputy, D. K. Shivakumar, taking over if Siddaramaiah’s continuance becomes untenable.
Parameshwara and (state minister) H.C Mahadevappa are Dalit leaders while Jarkiholi is a from the dominant Valmiki community, classified as a Scheduled Tribe (ST). They have been holding frequent meetings in what is seen in Congress circles as an attempt to push the candidature of a Scheduled Caste (SC) or ST leader if there is a vacancy.
Congress leaders ThePrint spoke to, however, said that these ministers have been rallying behind the CM and projection of an SC/ST alternative is also aimed at countering any attempt to replace Siddaramaiah with Shivakumar. SC and ST communities are together estimated to make up over 24 percent of Karnataka’s population.
“As of now, it would be extremely unwise to speak against Siddaramaiah, especially when the party cadres have sympathy and when all of us have said in unison that we are with him,” said one Congress legislator, requesting anonymity.
The legislator added that within the Congress, only Siddaramaiah and to some extent party president Mallikarjun Kharge can cut across party lines and draw the support of all legislators.
Siddaramaiah, who hails from the backward Kuruba community, has also projected himself as a champion of the backward classes, making it that much harder for the Congress to take any action against him and in favour of the dominant classes like Lingayats and Vokkaligas (Shivakumar hails from the community) who are seen to back the BJP and JD(S), respectively.
According to political observers, any attempt from outside or within to dislodge the CM would antagonise the backward classes, which the Congress can ill-afford.
The party is relying on the Siddaramaiah-led AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) to continue the momentum from the Lok Sabha elections.
“This (backing of Siddaramaiah) appears to be part of a larger scheme and any change in leadership will lead to continuous political instability,” Bengaluru-based political analyst A. Narayana told ThePrint.
Shivakumar already has income tax and ED cases pending against him and spent as many as 50 days in jail in 2019.
“Politically, the strategy is to get the truth out to the people and we have been following it since this matter broke out. The fact is that the people who are crying foul are not above board. There are many cases against leaders like Vijayendra, Kumaraswamy and Ashoka that have been registered/investigated in the past but have not reached a logical conclusion,” MLA Ponnanna told ThePrint.
“It is the devil preaching the Bible,” he further said, adding that raising of the matter of cases against opposition leaders was not vindictive but action that needed to be taken earlier itself to show that those alleging corruption against Siddaramaiah were guilty of it themselves.
Backward class factor
Several leaders, representing various backward groups, met at a hotel in Bengaluru Thursday.
According to Byrathi Suresh, a minister and aide of Siddaramaiah, the meeting was meant to lead an all-party delegation to the CM and review the benefits given to these sections by the Congress government in Karnataka.
“Several backward class leaders from the upper and lower houses (of the state legislature) are meeting Siddaramaiah to speak about the review of benefits extended to backward classes,” Suresh told reporters.
However, people aware of the developments said there was more to the meeting and Siddaramaiah was trying to use it as another layer of protection against further attacks.
The CM has long relied upon the AHINDA for his political journey and now, survival.
“The main agenda is to target a CM who is from the backward classes. otherwise why would they target a person who has led an honest and efficient government for five years in the past as well? This is all to project that he is not doing a good job in Karnataka,” said Y.R. Venkatraman, convenor of the Federation of Depressed Communities.
Several backward groups have planned and executed protests against what they believe is a “systematic” approach to target and dislodge Siddaramaiah.
The CM himself resorted to playing the caste card in July when he said he was being targeted for being from a backward class.
Siddaramaiah is also the one to have commissioned the 2015 Socio-Economic and Education Survey or the caste census by which he aims to challenge the “disproportionate” benefits enjoyed by the so-called dominant groups like Lingayats and Vokkaligas, analysts pointed out.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)