Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has countered graft allegations against him and his government, alleging that it was a “conspiracy” because he is from the backward classes. This comes amid the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacking him over alleged scams involving the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and the Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, a state-run body set up for the welfare of the ST community.
“They (BJP) are doing this (levelling allegations) for political purposes. They don’t have anything. Siddaramaiah is from the backward classes and has become the CM for the second time…all of them are jealous. They are carrying out a conspiracy. Will I get scared?” the chief minister said Thursday while responding to questions about the graft allegations.
Siddaramaiah, from the Kuruba community, is one of just six chief ministers in the state’s history to be from neither the dominant Lingayats nor Vokkaligas .
The BJP has accused the chief minister of “playing the caste card” and alleged that both the scandals show the direct involvement of Siddaramaiah.
According to the Opposition, the MUDA scam is valued at Rs 4,000 crore and in the Valmiki Corporation scam, around Rs 187 crore meant for the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) was diverted to private bank accounts inside Karnataka as well as to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
“As expected, CM @siddaramaiah resorts to playing the caste card after his corrupt face gets exposed in the Rs 4000 crore mega MUDA land scam. CM @Siddaramaiah avare, does @RahulGandhi’s unfounded aggression against PM Modi avaru stem from his deep envy against the three time OBC Prime Minister? While @Siddaramaiah claims to be the voice of AHINDA, he has wilfully kept Dalits impoverished and treated them as mere vote banks to gain political power. The time is ticking CM Siddaramaiah avare, your mask is off!” R. Ashok, leader of the Opposition in the state and senior BJP leader, wrote on X.
As expected, CM @siddaramaiah resorts to playing the caste card after his corrupt face gets exposed in the ₹4,000 crore mega MUDA land scam.
CM @siddaramaiah avare, does @RahulGandhi's unfounded aggression against PM Modi avaru stem from his deep envy against the three time OBC… pic.twitter.com/tysd6QRNKC
— R. Ashoka (ಮೋದಿ ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬ) (@RAshokaBJP) July 12, 2024
The ED Friday arrested a Congress leader and former minister, B. Nagendra, in connection with alleged irregularities at the Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, and he was remanded to ED custody for six days Saturday.
The BJP has intensified its allegations and said that it will protest inside the assembly in the upcoming legislative session from 16 July in Bengaluru.
‘No hiding from scandal’
Siddaramaiah has always projected himself as a champion of the backward classes and modelled his politics around AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits).
Though Siddaramaiah has been accused of neglecting the dominant communities in the past, the two communities backed the Congress in the May 2023 assembly elections and helped the party win nine out of 28 seats in the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On Friday, BJP workers, led by B. Y. Vijayendra, the party’s state president, were stopped in the outskirts of the city and prevented from heading to Mysore.
The BJP has said that it would intensify protests until Siddaramaiah resigns from his post and the scandals are handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“There is no possibility of hiding from the scandal. It will become inevitable to hand it over to the CBI,” Vijayendra told reporters Friday.
During Siddaramaiah’s tenure as chief minister for over six years, there have been allegations of corruption against his government, ministers and others, but rarely has one landed directly on the 76-year-old — until now.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar has backed Siddaramaiah’s allegations of being targeted because of his OBC status.
Reacting to the chief minister’s statements, Shivakumar said “definitely” twice.
“Definitely, definitely…because there is only one big state (under the Congress) and they (BJP) want to demoralise (us),” Shivakumar told reporters Friday.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has asked for a detailed report from the Siddaramaiah-led government regarding the alleged diversion of funds under the Karnataka Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP).
In a letter dated 9 July, the NSCA said that it had taken suo-motu cognizance and alleged that Karnataka had diverted funds meant for SC/ST welfare for “implementing Five Guarantees Schemes”.
According to the letter, the “Government of Karnataka has taken decision to divert Rs 14730.53 crores from SCSP and TSP allocation Guarantees Schemes.”
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also read: What is ST development corp ‘swindle’ that led to resignation of Karnataka minister Nagendra