Bengaluru, Aug 31 (IANS): Lashing out at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his alleged involvement in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday asked the senior Congress leader to "stop drama and face the investigation" for which Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot already gave a nod.
Speaking to the media in Hubballi on Saturday, the Union Minister said: "CM Siddaramaiah should stop this high drama and face an investigation. The judiciary exists. Whether CM is innocent or not will be decided by the court, and everyone should abide by its decision. Hence, Siddaramaiah should face the investigation first.
"Why does Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and other Congress members want to do a 'Raj Bhavan Chalo'? They should do a 'MUDA Chalo' and apologise for their mistakes. They should go to the MUDA office, apologise for acquiring land there, and distributing it among their close associates. Let them fold their hands, apologise in MUDA, and return."
"Didn't former CM B.S. Yediyurappa heading BJP government resign and face the investigation?" the Union Minister questioned. "There is no difference between the cases involving Yediyurappa and CM Siddaramaiah. Let the CM face the investigation first," he insisted.
He also condemned the Congress' actions of "threatening and intimidating" the Governor with the 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' campaign for giving approval to the investigation against CM Siddaramaiah.
"If the CM claims he is not involved in any corruption and has done nothing wrong in the MUDA scam, why does this drama of 'Raj Bhavan Chalo' threaten the Governor?" Pralhad Joshi questioned.
Further criticising Siddaramaiah and his deputy, D.K. Shivakumar, the Union Minister said: "You have promoted an officer who colluded in the MUDA scam, as a Registrar, while you transferred a senior official who wrote a letter stating there was wrongdoing. Now, you are intimidating the Governor for allowing an investigation.
"CM Siddaramaiah says there is a conspiracy against him because he belongs to a backward class and has been CM twice. However, the Governor is also from a Dalit family. Earlier, the Chief Minister praised him but now, as soon as an investigation has been allowed against him, he is threatening the Governor. Why? No one will bow down to such things."
"Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are not showing any commitment to public welfare, public interest, or development but are busy playing political drama to save their chairs," Pralhad Joshi said.
He also accused the Congress government of showing no concern for the damage caused due to rain to the crops.
"The Central government quickly gave permission to buy groundnut, sunflower, urad dal, and soyabean at support prices, but the state has not made any proper preparation.
"Officials from the state government had called and sought permission to buy at support prices. I had advised them to submit a proposal. Two days after receiving the proposal, the Central government granted permission. But the state government has still not made any preparations," Pralhad Joshi said.
"Considering the lower prices of groundnut, sunflower, urad dal, and soyabean in the market, the Central government has immediately approved opening procurement centres for the benefit of the farmers. But the Karnataka government has not yet made suitable preparations to open these centres," he said.
He accused the state government of not working on the development of roads, saying: "The roads in the state are in bad condition. Rahul Gandhi should see the situation in Karnataka where his own party is in power. What has happened to governance and development here?"