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Journalism of Courage
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday will pronounce its verdict on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s petition against Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot’s approval to three people to file corruption cases against him over land that the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) granted to his wife Parvathi.
Justice M Nagaprasanna is scheduled to pronounce his verdict around noon. And irrespective of the verdict, the matter is most likely to go to the Supreme Court. In the arguments that concluded on September 12, the CM’s counsels argued, among other things, that the Governor failed to rationalise his August 16 sanction order. The Governor also showed “unusual urgency” in granting the sanction but at the same time took nearly three years to reject a similar sanction for an investigation into former BJP minister Shashikala Jolle, Siddaramaiah’s lawyers told the court.
Some of the lawyers of the three complainants — Pradeep Kumar S P, T J Abraham, and Snehamayi Krishna — argued that the sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act was legally valid since it allows the start of a probe into whether the CM can be linked to the alleged land allotments to his wife that are under question.
In context: The court’s decision will have an impact on state politics. If it is in Siddaramaiah’s favour, it will strengthen his position in the party and give him more leverage in his dealings with the Governor with whom he is on a collision course over the appointment of Vice-Chancellors.
However, a less-than-favourable outcome will not only boost the Opposition, which has been trying to corner the government over allegations of corruption, it has the potential to shake things up within the Congress.
Last month, as Siddaramaiah moved to court against the Governor, the Congress decided to close ranks behind him and go on an offensive against Gehlot. The party was able to do that but will things remain the same if Siddaramaiah’s position weakens after the ruling? Most importantly, what will his rival and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, who has publicly thrown his weight behind him, do?
There have already been some signs that may worry the Congress leadership. Several of SIddaramaiah’s loyalists recently turned heads as they said they were ready to step into the CM’s shoes if he had to step away because of his legal problems. According to the CM’s detractors within the party, this is a strategy to keep Shivakumar at bay by propping us as many claimants for the top job as possible.
When Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar agreed to set aside their differences and form the government in May 2023, the latter’s camp claimed that the party high command had agreed to a term-sharing formula of two and a half years between them. This, it said, paved the way for the consensus to emerge.
If Siddaramaiah’s position is now jeopardised because of his legal troubles, will Shivakumar see it as his turn at the helm of the state? If he does, the Congress high command will another high-wire act to perform. Any forced leadership change will also likely backfire as it will alienate Backward Class voters, Siddaramaiah’s core voter base.
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