UP Congress leader Ajay Rai on Siddaramaiah

Reacting to Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot's decision to authorise the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scandal, Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Ajay Rai said it was a conspiracy by the BJP to weaken the Congress government.
Speaking to ANI, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said, “This is a conspiracy of the BJP. They want to weaken the Congress government wherever it is in power. How many scams has former Karnataka BJP chief minister Yediyurappa committed? A commission of 40 per cent was agreed upon, but nothing happened. The BJP is trying to torture and defame the Congress.”
He further said that the governor was working on behalf of the central government.
“In the Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi, eight governors and the lieutenant governor campaigned for Prime Minister Modi without showing any respect for their position. This shows that the governor is acting on the instructions of the central government,” he further alleged.
On August 17, an order from the Karnataka Governor's Secretariat read: “On the directions of the Hon'ble Governor, I hereby attach a copy of the decision of the competent authority on the petition for prosecution of Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharathiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 for committing the alleged offences mentioned in the petitions.”
Following this decision, Siddaramaiah responded, “The governor's permission to prosecute me is unconstitutional. The governor should act as an agent of the constitution, but he is behaving like an agent of the central government and the BJP.”
Earlier, social activist Snehamayi Krishna had filed a complaint against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and nine others for allegedly forging documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority.
Earlier this month, CM Siddaramaiah refuted the allegations and said, “In the case of MUDA, everything was done as per law. I had no influence on the allotment of the plot. My wife was given a replacement plot in 2021 during the tenure of the BJP government as per law.” (ANI)