Karnataka finds itself constantly plagued with corruption, irrespective of whichever political party is in power. The story has remained the same whether it was the Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal-Secular or the Congress at the helm.
All these parties rode to power promising removal of corruption and poverty as their main plank during elections. However, they fall flat when they assume the reins of the government.
The very charges they levelled against the opponent they ousted in the polls, return to haunt them. This also explains why for more than a decade, none of the ruling parties has ever retained power for the next term.
Ironically, other than the symbols of the party concerned, nothing changes. In every case, the corruption charges invariably relate to land deals, transfer of officials, mining leases, scams in organisations under government control and allied undertakings. The corruption charges are also raised about the appointments of officials.
In the present environment, the ruling Congress which rode to power by promising freebies and a corruption free administration, is now facing the same charges that it leveled against the BJP in the Assembly elections 2023. The saffron party had been ousted.
However, this time, the corruption allegations have assumed greater significance as none other than Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is the main target. The case is about the alleged “questionable” allotment of land by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to Parvathi, who is being called the CM’s “invisible wife”.
Even more embarrassing for the CM, and the ruling party, is the sanction that state Governor Tawarchand Gehlot, has granted for Siddaramaiah’s prosecution on the issue. Predictably, even though the matter is now before the court, the image of the CM and that of the ruling party has taken a severe beating.
Much to the glee of the opposition BJP and its ally, the JD-S, the Congress has also been hit by a major multi-crore scam where over Rs 90 crores was pilfered from the Maharishi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Cooperative.
Even though the Congress took quick action by forcing Nagendra, the minister concerned to resign, this latest scam revelation sullied its image no end. The Opposition claims that the minister was just a scapegoat.
More so, as the Congress has already been accused of diverting funds for development programmes meant for the tribal and backward sections of society to fund its promised freebies to the people. Further, the party has not been able to put to rest allegations that the cooperative bank’s money was used to fund the Telangana elections.
Fuelling the corruption charges further, as it were, is the alleged land allotment to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust, run by Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge and his family. These charges come on the back of assertions by the contractors’ association which has accused the Siddaramaiah government of collecting 40 per cent commission for releasing the dues of its members.
These are the same charges which the association had made against the BJP, and which the Congress exploited successfully during the 2023 polls.
According to sources, a section of powerful ministers is allegedly “forcing many real estate giants to cough up Rs 10 crore each now, if only to make up for the financial losses that the party suffered, post the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.”
In essence, therefore, all these developments have forced the state Congress on the backfoot, notwithstanding the fact that Siddaramaiah has managed to get the full backing of the party’s central leadership for now.
Having said that, the CM’s worries are not over as speculation is rife that the Congress is already scouting for alternatives in Karnataka.
As a party insider claimed, “it is a testing time for Siddaramaiah, more so as the central leadership is worried about the impact that developments in Karnataka may have on the forthcoming Assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra. Accordingly, the party has to take a firm stand on these issues, however unpleasant it may seem.”
Therefore, sensing perhaps, the mood of the party high command, Siddaramaiah has already managed to mobilise the support of his AHINDA (an acronym for ‘backward classes’, Dalits and minorities) groups which have extended support to him; even warning of serious consequences if their leader is removed as the CM.
This support apart, the party’s leadership is aware of the delicate situation that it faces. This explains the meetings that it has been holding with senior leaders and possible CM candidates like Satish Jarkiholi and G. Parameshwara, ministers in Siddaramaiah’s cabinet. If this was not enough, another senior leader, R. V. Deshpande has also claimed that he was not averse to becoming the CM, given the chance.
Therefore, despite his public posturing and the bold face that he is putting on, the beleaguered CM remains concerned about his chair; fully aware of the many contenders that he has for that post . None more brazen and ambitious than his own Deputy CM, D. K. Shivakumar.
Witness, therefore, Siddaramaiah’s warning, at a function to mark the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna, recently. Much to the surprise of his supporters, an otherwise reticent CM referred to backstabbers like Mir Sadiq who was instrumental in helping the British catch Tipu Sultan. “Until I have the blessings of the people, nobody can shake me,” the CM said forcefully. However, the pressure is telling on him, said party insiders.
Meanwhile, the state Congress is also attacking the BJP and JD-S by highlighting their alleged involvement in scams when they were in power. It is also highlighting the Naendra Modi government’s failure to provide the state its financial dues. The Congress has also termed the Governor’s sanction against Siddaramaiah’s prosecution as “a fight between the Raj Bhavan and the state government.”
Alongside, the Congress is exploring the option of approaching the President against the Governor’s sanction to prosecute Siddaramaiah. The party “is open to all alternatives,” a senior leader said.
The Congress has also charged the Governor with “unfairly returning several Bills which were passed by the state legislature and sent to the Raj Bhavan for approval.”
In a related development, the government is also following up on pending cases against JDS leader and Union Minister for Heavy Industries, H. D. Kumaraswamy,for allegedly leasing land to a mining firm in Ballari, during his term as CM in 2007.
In fact, now the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Lokayukta has approached Gehlot for permission to file a chargesheet against Kumaraswamy in the case.
Similarly, the Congress is targeting K. Sudhakar, MP and former BJP health minister, over alleged irregularities in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic. This follows the submission of the interim report on the subject by Justice John Michael D’Cunha who was heading the Commission of Enquiry in the matter.
The former minister, however, has charged the government with engaging in revenge politics, arguing that the Congress was setting a new precedent.
Incidentally, the enquiry in the Covid matter was initiated by the Congress government last year for examining allegations relating to illegal procurement of drugs and equipment,involving an expenditure of over Rs 7000 crore.
By way of retort, former BJP CM, and current MP, Basavaraj Bommai, has claimed that there was a turmoil in the Congress party following internal conflicts allied with the poor performance of the government. Consequently, he said, the CM’s position had become a bit shaky.
According to him, in the past, the Congress had junked several “heavyweight CMs including Veerendra Patil, Devaraj Urs ,Gundu Rao and S.Bangarappa. This type of politics would continue,especially as all these leaders also had a huge following.”
Amid the ensuing drama, a Right to Information activist, Marlinga Gowda, received an interesting reply to his query on the amount of money spent by the CM’s office on his social media. As per the available information, Siddaramaiah “spends more than Rs 53 lakhs per month to maintain his official and personal social media accounts, according to news reports.
Gowda claimed that he had filed for information after learning that the government was spending huge amounts on the CM’s social media accounts. He was also concerned that development works had ground to a halt following absence of funds, a reference to the money that was being spent on meeting the five guarantees promised by the Congress before the 2023 polls.
Meanwhile, Congress cadres in the city remain confused over the current developments. As Navin Chandra , a young party worker, said “while we stand with the CM ,recent developments have confused us to no end.” Nevertheless , Chandra was quick to assert that the workers remained confident about the leadership, and were hopeful that all the current issues plaguing the party would be sorted out soon.