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Kumaraswamy slams Karnataka govt over Lokayukta chargesheet request, says Congress is out to malign him

Aug 21, 2024 09:33 PM IST

Kumaraswamy denied any involvement in the case and accused the Congress government of attempting to tarnish his reputation.

Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy criticised the Congress-led state government on Wednesday in response to Karnataka's Special Investigation Team regarding Lokayukta's request for permission to file a charge sheet against him. Kumaraswamy denied any involvement in the case and accused the Congress government of attempting to tarnish his reputation.

Union minister HD Kumaraswamy holds press conference on Tuesday. (HT_PRINT)
Union minister HD Kumaraswamy holds press conference on Tuesday. (HT_PRINT)

HD Kumaraswamy said, “From 2011 the allegations are going that one mining allotment was issued in my tenure. The allegation is that when I was the chief minister in 2007, I favoured Sai Venkateshwara. There are allegations that I have collected 150 crores from mining owners. So I requested Lokayukta to start an inquiry about the same. They started the enquiry in 2011 and several findings have come out. The Lokayukta submitted that enquiry report to the Government in 2010 or 2011. There is no exchequer loss. Till now no mining area has been allocated to anyone.”

“In my case, the Supreme Court gave the direction on the interference of the present Congress Government in the year 2014- 15 headed by Siddaramaiah. They appealed in the Court and asked for enquiry. The court permitted enquiry. The court ordered to complete the enquiry within 3 months and come up with the report. SC also directed not to go to any other court and SC will give the ultimate decision,” he added.

“The SIT went to the Supreme Court 2 to 3 times but only filed the status report. Now after the Congress came to power in 2023, they went to the governor in November requesting sanction to file chargesheet against me. Then governor after a thorough study said that there was some controversy regarding the signature on the file, so directed to once again go through the case and come again,” he said.

"The SIT of the Karnataka Lokayukta have even taken my statement, now they have filed the chargesheet. Let's see what happens. I have no role in the case. This government wants to malign me. But this is a dead case," he added.

What is the case?

On Monday, the SIT submitted a proposal requesting the governor's approval to press charges against Kumaraswamy, based on reports from the Karnataka Lokayukta led by Justice Santosh Hegde covering the period from November 22, 2013, to June 6, 2017.

Since Kumaraswamy was the chief minister during the alleged scam and is now a Union minister, only the governor can authorise his prosecution.

Lokayukta officials noted that if permission is granted, it could lead to legal complications for Kumaraswamy, who holds a prominent position in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's NDA government.

HD Kumaraswamy on CM Siddaramaiah's MUDA case

On the allegations against CM Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case, HD Kumaraswamy said that the chief minister's wife requested to get compensatory land.

“CM's brother-in-law fabricated documents and acquired the land. The land belongs to MUDA. Everything has happened under Siddaramaiah only by misusing the office of the CM,” he added.

On Monday, the Karnataka High Court suspended action against chief minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA ‘scam’ case until a petition challenging the governor's sanction is reviewed. The court scheduled the matter for hearing on August 29 and instructed the lower court to halt all related proceedings until then.

Previously, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah questioned whether Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot had treated him unfairly. Siddaramaiah noted that while the governor had granted immediate permission to prosecute him in the MUDA ‘scam’ case, he seemed to be taking a more delayed approach regarding HD Kumaraswamy’s case.

“Has the governor not discriminated by giving immediate permission for prosecution against me? In the case of former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, the Governor has been following a delay policy but he has permitted the prosecution without relying on any investigation report against me. Is this not discrimination?” CM told reporters in Koppal on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Siddaramaiah said that while the Lokayukta Special Investigation Team had requested permission to prosecute the Janata Dal (Secular) leader in the alleged illegal mining case, the governor had not yet acted on this request.

Karnataka CM added, “In HD Kumarawamy's case, the Governor is following a delaying approach, but he has allowed prosecution against me without any investigation report. What else is this but discrimination?”

“Kumaraswamy is already scared. They are worried that the governor may allow an investigation into the illegal mining case. Lokayukta SIT submitted an investigation report against him and sought permission for prosecution, but as the Governor took no action, SIT applied again,” CM added.

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