"I get more josh (energy) while fighting political battles," said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after filing the writ petition in the state's High Court on 19 August. The petition challenged Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's order giving sanction for an investigation against the CM in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of alternative sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The statement appropriately fits an embattled Siddaramaiah in the present situation, who is confronting another big challenge to his political leadership and integrity, 18 years after the Chamundeshwari Assembly by-poll in Mysuru district in 2006 when he joined and contested as a Congress candidate and won by a narrow margin of 257 votes against his erstwhile party, the Janata Dal (Secular).
But what is the MUDA controversy? For the unversed, Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi was allotted 14 sites in Mysuru in lieu of MUDA acquiring her 3.16 acres of land without taking her consent and forming plots. The land was gifted to Parvathi by her brother BM Mallikarjuna Swamy in 2010 and in 2014 when she realised MUDA had illegally acquired her land, she petitioned the authority for alternate sites as compensation.
In 2021, Parvathi petitioned MUDA once again, when she was allotted 14 sites under the authority's 50:50 formula wherein 50 percent of the developed sites will be given free of cost to the person whose lands are acquired for the project. The Congress government, after coming to power in May 2023, scrapped the rule.
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The Karnataka High Court's order directing the special court to defer further proceedings in the sites allotment case till 29 August has temporarily paused the confrontation between Raj Bhavan and the Congress-ruled government, which had "advised" the Governor against entertaining the two petitions filed by social activists TJ Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna on the MUDA issue.
The Congress government has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and JD(S) alliance of misusing the Raj Bhavan to topple the government and also pointed out that the Governor has taken no action on prosecutions pending against former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, former Ministers G Janardhan Reddy, Murugesh Nirani, and Shashikala Jole under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The BJP has demanded that Siddaramaiah quit, citing Yediyurappa's resignation from the chief ministerial post in 2011. The Congress, however, rebutted this by reminding the BJP that Yediyurappa resigned not when the Governor sanctioned prosecution against him in the de-notification of 15 lands in Bengaluru but over the Lokayukta report, which indicted the Lingayat leader in the biggest illegal mining scam estimated to be Rs 16,500 crore.
The MUDA scam has not just turned up the political heat on Siddaramaiah but has also manifested into a verbal duel between sworn foes Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and HD Kumaraswamy, both of whom are vying for supremacy over the Vokkaliga community amidst the tussle between the Governor and the government.
Besides, Siddaramaiah has the backing of the Congress high command, who reportedly are of the opinion that the CM has had no hand in the allotments to his wife. "This is one of the reasons why Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala were present at the Mysuru rally held on 9 August, which was supposed to be a show of strength and to counter the BJP-JD(S) padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru," sources within the party told The Quint.
Known for maintaining a clean record, Siddaramaiah has always enjoyed the backing of the party's high command which is aware that while there are many stalwarts in the state unit, their reach is limited. In 2006, when Siddaramaiah formally joined the Congress party, then AICC President Sonia Gandhi came down to Bengaluru for the event, as party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Shivakumar, and AH Vishwanath (now with the NDA alliance), responsible for his induction, had projected him as a leader of the backward classes who would garner votes for the party.
The Opposition parties' strident attack on Siddaramaiah seems to have brought about a temporary ceasefire within the warring factions of the state Congress.
"From the booth level to the MPs, the CM has got the backing. Why should Siddaramaiah be punished for a matter where he had no role or decision? The BJP is being stupid by trying to copy what the Congress party did before the 2023 Assembly polls regarding the 40 percent commission campaign against it. Has Siddaramaiah accepted any cheques or been convicted by the Lokayukta like Yediyurappa for him to resign." Congress MLC Prakash Rathod asked.
State Congress Committee Media and Communications Cell Chairman Ramesh Babu has petitioned President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention. "It is evident that the Governor's decision is influenced by the Central Government's political interests. The BJP and its allies, including the JD(S), have misused the Governor’s office to orchestrate a vendetta against the Chief Minister, who has led a government that has consistently worked for the welfare of the people. The sanction of investigation is in violation of the Violation of Standard Operating Procedures Under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988," he maintained.
Even as the Congress high command has ruled out a change of leadership in the state, the murmurs around who would replace Siddaramaiah in the event of the court order going against him has begun.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, an aspirant for the CM's post, in a fiery speech at the Mysuru rally said he will stand guard for Siddaramaiah and "the likes of Kumaraswamy or R Ashoka (Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly) will not be able to do anything in this lifetime." AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, who was in Bengaluru over the weekend, did not commit to replacing Siddaramaiah, simply asserting that the BJP was misusing governors in non-BJP-ruled states.
The political situation in Karnataka is fluid — a strong defence by Siddaramaiah with documents to prove his innocence, an Opposition that would like to see the Congress government topple, several aspirants for the CM's post, and a lot of suspense over the court's ruling. Amidst this, the Congress Legislature Party, scheduled to meet on 22 August, may pass a resolution to abide by whatever decision the high command takes eventually.
(Naheed Ataulla is a senior political journalist based in Bengaluru. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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