Ruling Congress stages 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' protest against alleged misuse of Governor's office

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Karnataka Deputy Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said the 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' march was organised by the Congress party to protest against the alleged misuse of the office of the Governor.

Shivakumar, who is the Congress Karnataka unit president, said the march is mainly to ensure that the Raj Bhavan should not become the office of a political party.

"I want to clarify that we organised 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' not on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The matter is in the court of law...," the Deputy CM said.

"This 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' is to make sure that the Governor's office should not become an office of a party. We are going there (Raj Bhavan) with a demand to protect the sanctity of this constitutional post," he said.

Shivakumar lamented that there were many pending petitions, seeking permission to prosecute some individuals, with the Governor.

Holding placards, banners, posters and raising slogans condemning Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Congress leaders led by Shivakumar took out a march, which saw the participation of several ministers, Congress MLAs and MPs.

Later, they handed over a memorandum to Gehlot. In their memorandum, the Congress leaders demanded the grant of sanction for prosecution against Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy, former ministers G Janardhana Reddy, Shashikala Jolle, Murugesh Nirani and others under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 218 BNSS (197 Cr.P.C), as sought for by the Lokayukta police.

They also asked for the prior approval under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Amendment Act, 2018) as sought for by the Lokayukta police.

"We are also deeply concerned by your selective approach in granting prosecution sanction/ prior approval. While swift action was taken against Shri Siddaramaiah, there has been a conspicuous delay and dereliction in cases involving BJP and JD(S) leaders such as H D Kumarswamy, Shashikala Jolle, Murugesh Nirani, and Janardhana Reddy, despite clear evidence of corruption and wrongdoing," the Congress leaders said in the memorandum.

The party also demanded that there should be an end to the "abuse of the office of Governor and to stop acting on political considerations."

The people of Karnataka will not tolerate a Governor who fails to uphold the principles of justice and democracy, the Congress said in its memorandum.

"As the Governor, your role is to uphold the Constitution and ensure that justice is administered without fear or favour. We urge you to demonstrate impartiality in your decisions and to dispel the growing concerns of political bias," he added.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah, his cabinet colleagues, Congress MLAs and MPs staged a sit-in demonstration near the Gandhi statue on the Vidhana Soudha premises here.

The Congress government is at loggerheads with Gehlot after he granted permission to investigate and prosecute the CM in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam. Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi is accused of getting compensatory sites in the Mysuru upmarket against the 'illegal acquisition' of 3 acres and 16 guntas of her agricultural land in Kesare village in Mysuru by the MUDA. 

The Chief Minister has been alleging that the Governor's office was misused to 'destabilise' the Congress government in the state. Siddaramaiah has also accused Gehlot of discriminating against him while granting permission for prosecution.

Governor Gehlot on August 16 accorded sanction for prosecution of the CM under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions of three social activists.