Karnataka: Siddaramaiah to fight against governor legally, politically if needed

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said his government will fight legally and politically if Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot rejects the Cabinet advice to take back a "show cause notice" given to the CM in a corruption scandal.

"We have said the show cause notice has to be withdrawn. Also, we have asked for the petition by (activist) TJ Abraham seeking permission for prosecution to be rejected. Let's see what decision the governor takes,” the chief minister told the media in Belagavi.

"We are ready to fight ... both legally and politically we will fight," he said.

Governor issues show case notice

Based on activist Abraham’s petition, the governor issued a "show cause notice" on July 26 telling Siddaramaiah to reply to allegations against him within seven days and explain why permission cannot be granted to prosecute him.

The Karnataka government on Thursday "strongly advised" the governor to withdraw the notice to the chief minister and accused the governor of grossly misusing his office.

The Karnataka cabinet also alleged that a concerted effort was on to destabilise the lawfully elected Congress majority government in the state.

Earlier, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said that if the governor rejects the cabinet's advice, the Congress government will fight it out legally.

"I'm hopeful and don't feel that the governor will do it (give sanction) despite the cabinet's advice along with facts," he said.

The allegations

The Opposition in Karnataka accused the chief minister and his family of fraud in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority. They want Siddaramaiah to quit.

It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru with higher property value as compared to the location of her land "acquired" by the MUDA.