Facing a court-ordered probe, a defiant CM Siddaramaiah speaks to reporters at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday.
Credit: DH PHOTO/PUSHKAR V
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is facing a court-ordered investigation in connection with a site allotment scam, ruled out his resignation by pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not step down in the aftermath of the 2002 Godhra riots.
“There’s no question of me resigning. I haven’t done anything wrong,” Siddaramaiah said in response to the Opposition BJP’s protest at Vidhana Soudha demanding his resignation.
“In the Godhra incident, had Modi resigned when an FIR was registered against him? Hundreds of people died, but Modi never resigned. Since I haven't done anything wrong, I needn't resign,” Siddaramaiah said, referring to the Godhra train burning case that resulted in one of India’s worst communal riots in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, when he was Chief Minister.
Pressure is mounting on Siddaramaiah that he should resign to avoid further ‘embarrassment’ to the ruling Congress.
To this, Siddaramaiah asked Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Steel HD Kumaraswamy to resign first. “Kumaraswamy, who is a member of Modi’s Cabinet, is out on bail. Has he resigned? Isn’t that an embarrassment? Shouldn’t Kumaraswamy resign first?” he said.
A special court on Wednesday ordered a probe by the Lokayukta police against Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam, setting the stage for registering an FIR against him.
The order came a day after the Karnataka High Court upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by MUDA.
Pressure is mounting on Siddaramaiah that he should resign to avoid further ‘embarrassment’ to the ruling Congress.
To this, Siddaramaiah asked Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Steel HD Kumaraswamy to resign first.
“Kumaraswamy, who is a member of Modi’s Cabinet, is out on bail. Has he resigned? Isn’t that an embarrassment? Shouldn’t Kumaraswamy resign first?” he said.