K’taka Congress to protest against Guv’s nod for Siddaramaiah’s prosecution on Monday

Bengaluru, Aug 18 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar announced on Sunday that the Congress party would take up state-wide protest rallies on Monday against the Governor for according sanction to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence in Bengaluru, he said, “The protest rallies will be held in all district headquarters across the State. All the party leaders and workers will participate in the protest.”“The Governor is making a case out of nothing. This is a murder of democracy and we will protest it. We have instructed our party leaders to carry out peaceful protests and ensure that anti-social elements don’t infiltrate the rallies and create trouble,” he stated.On meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, he said, “We briefed him about the developments in the state.” Asked about nationwide protests against the Governor’s decision, he said the AICC would decide on that.Meanwhile, commenting on the future strategy of the Congress party in connection with the Governor’s consent for prosecution against CM Siddaramaiah, IT Minister Priyank Kharge stated, that the strategy of the party can’t be discussed in the media.Priyank Kharge said, “The strategy of legal matters is discussed in court not in front of media. I can say that we have the best constitutional experts being flown in. There are plenty of cases where the governor’s decision has been questioned. We will place all those cases before the judiciary.””BJP cannot take this to a logical end as there is no evidence. They can keep this case alive only by using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Governor is not acting constitutionally; he is a puppet in the hands of the Central government. He is no longer a Constitutional head,” Priyank Kharge slammed.In a major development, Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot on Saturday gave sanction for prosecution against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam.Siddaramaiah refuted the allegations and maintained that the Congress government would fight politically and legally if the permission for prosecution against him in the case was granted by the Governor.The Karnataka government on Saturday convened an emergency Cabinet meeting against the backdrop of the Governor’s decision to accord sanction to open a probe against Siddaramaiah in the MUDA land scam.The Cabinet unanimously condemned Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s decision.Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the Governor had not followed mandatory procedures while giving the sanction. On the other hand, the BJP has demanded immediate resignation from CM Siddaramaiah and slammed the Congress for criticising the Governor.–IANSmka/uk