• By Aditya Jha
  • Fri, 27 Sep 2024 04:04 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

MUDA Scam Row: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday responded to the calls of opposition leaders asking him to resign from the post after he was named accused as an accused in the MUDA scam. Siddaramaiah said that he would not resign and accused the BJP of orchestrating 'Operation Lotus' in the state again to dethrone the Congress government in the state. The Karnataka chief minister further said that several other politicians, including JDS chief HD Kumaraswamy, who is a minister in the Narendra Modi government, "are on bail but have not resigned yet" from their respective positions.

"I will not resign. HD Kumaraswamy is a minister; he is on bail after an FIR was lodged against him. He is a minister in the Narendra Modi govt. It's a politics by them to destabilise our govt, that's why they are doing it. They tried Operation Lotus, but they failed because we are 136 legislators. They formed govt without a mandate twice; did Yediyurappa win? We will fight it legally," Siddaramaiah said on Friday.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar referred to the demand for the resignation as "drama" and reiterated that several BJP leaders have not resigned and are facing serious charges. "There are a lot of cases against several central ministers and other leaders of the BJP; have all of them resigned? There is no need for CM to resign," he said. 

Basavraj Bommai, the former chief minister of the state, demanded resignation from the chief minister, claiming it was 'necessary for a fair investigation'. "To have a fair inquiry with this background. Lokayukta should be given a free hand by the present government by him resigning from his CM post," Bommai had said. 

Earlier, BJP leader CT Ravi reminded Siddaramaiah of the times when he used to demand a resignation from the then CM, Yediyurappa, on the corruption charges. "Siddaramaiah also said that Yediyurappa should resign...Now Siddaramaiah should resign. At that time, you suggested Yediyurappa to resign...You do not have any other option and you should resign,” he stated. 

In a major setback to CM Siddaramaiah, a special court on Thursday ordered the Lokayakta police to probe the alleged MUDA scam in which the chief minister is accused of illegally allotting 14 compensatory sites to his wife Parvathy. Lokayukta police have been asked to submit their report within three months.