Court only ordered probe; I am not guilty: Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Slamming the Opposition parties for demanding his resignation, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah firmly stated that he is not guilty, pointing out that the High Court has merely ordered a probe into the controversial MUDA case.

“Kumaraswamy is on bail. Did anyone ask for his resignation? The Court has only directed an inquiry in the MUDA case, which doesn’t imply guilt,” the Chief Minister said during a press conference at his home office ‘Krishna’ in Bengaluru last evening.

He emphasised that the High Court’s verdict came under Section 17(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and that the matter had been handed over for investigation. “Why don’t moral standards apply to Kumaraswamy? He’s aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Government. Why doesn’t the media question him? An inquiry has been ordered against me, not a conviction. Why ask for my resignation at this stage? This is a political conspiracy, and we will fight it politically,” Siddaramaiah asserted.

He added that the development would be politically and legally contested, noting that the Court had dismissed the petitioners’ demands under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Siddaramaiah also pointed out that the Governor had previously rejected a request to sanction action against him under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Not afraid of BJP, JD(S)

“I’m not afraid of the BJP and JD(S) conspiracy. The people of Karnataka are with us. They cannot topple this Government through money power or ‘Operation Lotus’. They succeeded in 2008 and 2019, but this time, Karnataka has given Congress an absolute majority with 136 MLAs supporting us,” he declared.

Siddaramaiah also accused national-level forces of conspiring to jail certain Chief Ministers, but stressed, “This will not happen in Karnataka. The people are standing with us, and so is our entire party — MLAs, MPs, MLCs, ministers and the high command.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar reiterated that the BJP and JD(S) were conspiring against the state Government. “We won’t back down. The party and the Government stand firmly with the Chief Minister. We will not yield to any pressure,” he said.