Bengaluru, Aug 20 Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday criticised Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on his "selective" approach, saying the Governor has adopted a "biased" approach in giving consent for an investigation against Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy.
“Why has the Governor adopted a biased approach when it comes to granting sanction for investigation against me and Kumaraswamy,” said Siddaramaiah while responding to media persons in Bengaluru after the Lokayukta Special Investigation Team (SIT) wrote to the Governor seeking consent to file a charge sheet against Kumaraswamy.
He said that the SIT sought consent for the investigation against Kumaraswamy in November 2023 in the Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals (SSVM) case but the Governor did not grant any consent.
“In my case, the Governor took a different stance and issued a show-cause notice within a day. It is not difficult to understand why the Governor is selective,” Siddaramaiah said.
He also confirmed that the SIT has approached the Governor again seeking prosecution against Kumaraswamy.
Criticising the Governor on granting consent for an investigation in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land case, Siddaramaiah earlier questioned why there was so much haste in his case while no sanction was issued against Kumaraswamy in a similar case.
“An investigation has been conducted in the MUDA case. There was no involvement, no letter, or order from me,” said Siddaramaiah.
In Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals (SSVM), it is alleged that illegal activities were committed in 2007 when Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister. He is accused of awarding a contract to the SSVM Company for mining 550 acres of land.
The SIT is conducting the probe based on a report on illegal mining by the then Karnataka Lokayukta, Justice N. Santhosh Hegde.
Kumaraswamy has been charged under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act. The SIT sought consent from Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on November 21, 2023, to submit a charge sheet against him.
In response, the Governor wrote a letter to the SIT on July 29, 2024, seeking clarifications. The SIT submitted the clarifications to the Governor’s queries on Monday.
Along with the response, the SIT again sought permission from the Governor to file a charge sheet against Kumaraswamy.
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