Santosh Hegde.
Credit: DH Photo
Mangaluru: Former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Wednesday said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should resign following the allegations of his involvement in MUDA site allotment scam.
He was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of Mangalore University Foundation Day celebrations at university campus. Hegde said that high court had declared that the facts against Siddaramaiah undoubtedly required an investigation. Thus, he should tender resignation.
He said that the chief minister had the opportunity to fight legally, but from the public’s perspective, resignation was appropriate.
“Siddaramaiah has claimed that he has done nothing wrong. But given the seriousness of the current allegations, a suitable decision must be taken,” he said.
“He (Siddaramaiah) now claims that he will appeal against the decision. That is an entirely separate matter. Based on the findings of judge, it seems evident that the chief minister is implicated in a scam-like issue, and his chances of obtaining a favorable outcome in the higher court are quite slim, Hegde said.
“Ideally, the case should be referred to CBI or a similar agency. I hope even the investigating agency, will carry out its duties diligently,” he said.
Hegde asked why is this sanction necessary for public servants. If a private citizen commits the same offence, no sanction is required and the complaint is sufficient for the court to proceed with the matter.
“The provision was introduced during British rule because, at that time, there was a movement to attain independence for the country. There was a suspicion that all cases would be filed against government servants, and to protect their own offices, they instituted this sanction power,” he explained.
“Now, why should this be the case in a democratic setup? Just because they are public servants, why should court protect them? In my opinion, this provision should be abolished as public servants are not above law of the land,” Hegde said.