Congress marches to Karnataka Raj Bhavan to protest governor’s approval to file cases against CM Siddaramaiah

The Congress delegation has made a “demand for grant of sanction for prosecution against H D Kumaraswamy, Janardhana Reddy, Shashikala Jolle, Murugesh Nirani and others under section 19 of the prevention of corruption act and section 218 BNSS (197 CrPC), as sought for by the Lokayukta police and grant of prior approval under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Amendment Act, 2018) as sought for by the Lokayukta police”.

The Congress delegation has also demanded an end to the “abuse of the office of Governor and to stop acting on political considerations”.

Even as the Congress levelled allegations of bias against the governor, the Karnataka High Court was informed by a private individual (who received an approval on August 16 from the governor to file a case against CM Siddaramaiah) that there were no cases pending before the governor for sanction as per a response to an RTI request.

The High Court was informed that in two cases where the Lokayukta sought a sanction to prosecute opposition leaders, some clarifications had been sought while one of the matters was in court.

In its memorandum to the governor, the Congress party noted “with deep dismay” that the Governor granted prior approval/prosecution sanction against Siddaramaiah, “based on petitions submitted by individuals with dubious backgrounds and without any formal request from an investigation agency.”

“This action, lacking proper procedural adherence and seemingly driven by political motivations, contrasts sharply with your inaction in other cases involving serious allegations of corruption and misconduct, ” the Congress party memorandum to the governor stated.

“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 Janardhan Reddy, despite clear evidence of corruption and wrongdoing,” the memo said.

The actions of the governor against the CM and lack of sanction for other party leaders would lead to the erosion of public trust, the Congress party stated.

“Your action, inaction, and the way you are conducting your office is leading to a growing belief of political bias, partisan attitude which is undermining the trust of the people of Karnataka in the impartiality and fairness of the constitutional office you hold. This selective application of your powers appears to be motivated by political consideration rather than a commitment to uphold justice and the rule of law,” the party said.