Congress to consult legal experts on possible CM prosecution in MUDA case

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Congress is consulting with legal experts in New Delhi to protect itself against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah potentially facing prosecution in the alleged scam in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

This appears to have been the suggestion of All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders whom Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar met in New Delhi earlier in the week. AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal had attended the meeting.

Advice from legal experts is being considered in the backdrop of Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot issuing a show-cause notice to the Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case on Wednesday.

The State Cabinet sans the CM on Thursday “strongly recommended” the Governor to withdraw the notice, terming it interference in the functioning of an elected majority government. The show-cause notice itself could be a mere formality, a precursor to sanction of prosecution.

The crux of the issue is that Siddarmaiah’s wife Parvati is alleged to have received 14 plots in Vijayanagara in Mysuru which hold greater value than the land she lost in Kesare village on the outskirts of the city.

The State government on its part reckons that the Union government is trying to destabilize the ruling party in Karnataka through its proxies namely Governor Gehlot and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is currently probing the Valmiki Corporation scam under which money is alleged to have siphoned money to private bank accounts.

The Corporation MD, among others, have been arrested in the case. B Nagendra was made to quit as minister and is currently in judicial custody.

‘Pursue graft cases against BJP leaders’

Rahul Gandhi on the other hand is said to have suggested that the State government aggressively pursue corruption cases against Opposition leaders. The POCSO Act against BJP bigwig BS Yediyurappa is also said to have been brought up.

The Congress leadership has also asked Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to formulate a comprehensive strategy to safeguard the State government.