Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened a Congress Legislative Party meeting on August 22 in the wake of Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granting permission to prosecute him in the alleged site allotment scam in Mysuru Urban Development Authority.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister's office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
Talking to reporters, Karnataka minister for Information Technology and biotechnology, Priyank Kharge said, "Since there is a huge uproar about the governor's role, we need to apprise our people. Ultimately they are public representatives; 136 MLAs need to know what is happening."
“The meeting is related to the MUDA developments. The chief minister will brief the Congress legislators about the facts of the case and will chalk out a strategy to fight the case legally and politically,” a source in the CM House told PTI.
Gehlot granted permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah, acting on the complaints of three private individuals.
In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.
MUDA had allotted 14 sites to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3 acres, 16 gunts of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 percent of developed land in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from several persons for creating residential layouts.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have claimed that the MUDA 'scam' is of a magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single-member inquiry commission under former high court Judge Justice PN Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'.
The chief minister denied any wrongdoing in the alleged scam.
Cong to stage state-wide protests on Aug 19
The Congress in Karnataka will stage state-wide protests against the permission given by the governor to prosecute the chief minister for his alleged role in the MUDA alternative site 'scam'.
Karnataka deputy Chief Minister D Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, on Sunday said, "The protest rallies will be held in all district headquarters across the state. All party leaders and workers will participate."
Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, he alleged that the Governor is making a case out of nothing. This is a "murder of democracy" and the Congress will protest against it.
Shivakumar said he has instructed the party leaders to carry out peaceful protests and ensure that anti-social elements do not infiltrate the rallies and create trouble.
Asked about the meeting with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, he said, "We briefed him today about the developments in the state."
On nation-wide protests about the Governor's decision, he said, the AICC would decide on that.
The deputy CM on Saturday called upon his party leaders and workers to take out a kilometre long march to the Taluk and district level offices and submit memoranda addressed to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, against the Governor's move.
"You all know that the BJP and the JD-S are hatching a big conspiracy against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. It's our duty to fight against it," he said in a post on 'X'.
Shivakumar said the Congress will fight against the conspiracy that aims to "finish off Siddaramaiah".
"We need to fight against the misuse of the office of the Governor, which granted permission to prosecute the Chief Minister," he said.
The Congress state president called upon the party leaders and workers to participate in the protest in large numbers.
The Congress party and the state Cabinet on Saturday backed the chief minister and turned down the opposition's demand for his resignation.
