Governor has become a puppet: Siddaramaiah on prosecution sanction against him in MUDA case

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday alleged that state governor had become a “puppet” in the hands of the central government and granting prosecution sanction against him is a sinister conspiracy to destabilise an elected government.

His remarks came after governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted permission to prosecute him based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, who alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by MUDA.

“The Honorable Governor has become a puppet in the hands of the Central Government, granting prosecution sanction against me is nothing but a sinister conspiracy to destabilize an elected government. This is a direct threat to democracy!” Siddaramaiah wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Governor's decision came despite the state cabinet's earlier advice to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to Siddaramaiah and to reject the petition seeking prosecution sanction.

“The Governor has been reduced to a political weapon by the BJP. They lack any moral right to demand my resignation. The BJP cannot stomach the success of our @INCKarnataka government and the Guarantee schemes that are benefiting the common people. We stand strong and united against this political vendetta!” the chief minister added.

'Governor's decision was unconstitutional'

He also said that there is no case against him and the Governor's decision was “unconstitutional.”

“We will challenge this illegal sanction in the court of law. From the very day the complaint was filed against me, a show-cause notice was issued. This move by the Governor was anticipated,” he said.

Siddaramaiah also claimed that a grand conspiracy has been hatched to undermine Congress government and the BJP and JD(S) leaders in the state are all allegedly part of it.

“Just as they did in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Delhi, they are now attempting to execute their plans in Karnataka. We will not let this pass!” he said.