GTD backs Siddaramaiah, says no need for resignation

NT Correspondent Mysuru: JD(S) MLA and party core committee Chairman GT Devegowda raised eyebrows on Thursday as he threw his weight behind Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against the Opposition which has been demanding his resignation. The demands have grown in intensity after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Siddaramaiah in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment scam. The accusation against the CM’s wife BM Parvati is that she received 14 plots of far greater value in lieu of land she lost on the outskirts of Mysuru. She recently returned the plots to MUDA. Devegowda, who has been both friend and political rival to Siddaramaiah made the comments at Dasara inaugural ceremony atop Chamundi Hill on the outskirts of Mysuru. The CM responded that the JD(S) leader had spoken the “truth”.

“If an FIR determined everything, no one would remain, not BJP’s Ashoka (Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly), not Janata Dal and not Congress. If the condition is tendering a resignation when an FIR is filed. An investigation was ordered in this case by the Governor (Thaawarchand Gehlot) and a Justice (Nagaprasanna) upheld it. Which law says you should resign if you are investigated? Did the court or Governor make that demand? Did they ask jail him (CM)? Doesn’t he have other developmental work?” Devegowda asked. “They have ignored his (Siddaramaiah’s) good work and are asking him to resign. If Kumaraswamy (Union Minister) is asked to resign, will he? Siddaramaiah came to power because of 136 seats. How can he just resign?” he asked.

Siddaramaiah thanked Devegowda for his supportive comments. “Devegowda, in spite of his affiliation to another party, has tried to speak the truth. This is what ‘Satyameva Jayathe’ (Truth Alone Triumphs) means,” he said. GT Devegowda’s association with Siddaramaiah goes back a few decades. Devegowda had moved to the JD(S) and even contested against Siddaramaiah from Chamundeshwari in 2018 and defeated him.

The Vokkaliga strongman, who had been sulking in the lead up to the 2023 Assembly polls, was convinced to stay in the JD(S) by party patriarch HD Devegowda. He is said to be unhappy again since he was overlooked for the JD(S) legislature party leader’s post, which went to Suresh Babu instead.

Abuse of power merits resignation: HDK

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy retorted that he had demanded Siddaramaiah’s resignation because of “abuse of power” rather than due to the FIR. The Opposition holds that the CM should resign to ensure there is no interference in the probe. “I never demanded resignation over the FIR. I demanded it because of the abuse of power that has taken place. They’re creating an environment where using officials to destroy evidence is made possible. The FIR against me is about my policy decisions from 15 years ago, not about bribery and such,” he said.