Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's entanglement in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority's (MUDA) alleged irregularities in allotment of compensatory sites to his wife is turning into a hydra-headed political tussle between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) combine in the state.
The latest is the slanging match between Union Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy and Additional Director-General (ADGP), Lokayukta, Special Investigation Team (SIT) M Chandra Sekhar probing a mining lease case against the Union Minister, when he was the Chief Minister in 2007.
Over the weekend, Kumaraswamy lashed out at Sekhar by calling him a "blackmailer and criminal" and accused the Congress government of seeking protection from such "tainted" officials. "I might be an accused in the mining case, but the officer is a criminal in disguise of a cop," he maintained.
The police officer in turn hit back at Kumaraswamy in an internal letter to his team, which has gone viral. Quoting Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, the officer in the letter said: "Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it. But we cannot avoid confronting criminals and the accused during our duty. Sometimes, these criminals and accused throw dirt at us. This should not deter us from our work. Never lose hope, as truth always triumphs. Let us have faith in truth, God and the law. Satyamev Jayate."
The trigger for this verbal clash between the politician and the police officer is the controversial Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals (SSVM) mining case in Sandur taluk of Ballari district. Sekhar is heading the SIT which is probing this case.
Kumaraswamy during his tenure as Chief Minister had sanctioned a mining lease to SSVM allegedly in contravention of the rules in 2007. In 2015, the Lokayukta SIT interrogated and arrested Kumaraswamy, but the latter had come prepared with an anticipatory bail and he was released.
The arrest was based on former Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde's report on illegal mining, which said the SSVM's application was processed from the office of additional secretary to industry and commerce secretary to Kumaraswamy all on a single day in October 2007.
After 17 years, the Lokayukta approached Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, seeking permission to prosecute Kumaraswamy in the mining case. The confidential report of the Lokayukta seeking the Governor's sanction was leaked to the media and Raj Bhavan in August wanted to know how it all happened.
Sekhar had suggested that Raj Bhavan officials should be probed for the leak. An enraged Kumaraswamy has questioned the police officer's audacity to seek permission from the Lokayukta's higher authorities to probe Raj Bhavan officials.
Amid this flare- up between Kumaraswamy and Sekhar, the Mysuru Lokayukta police filed and FIR against Siddaramaiah naming him as the prime accused in the MUDA scam on September 27.
Even as the BJP and the JD(S) demanded Siddaramaiah to step down, the Congress launched a counter attack asking Kumaraswamy to resign as he is out on bail in the mining case.
On the same day (September 27), Kumaraswamy had appeared before the Lokayukta for questioning in another case pertaining to 1.11 acre land denotification in Gangenahalli in Bengaluru North in 2007.
The following day, Kumaraswamy accused the Congress government of using a "tainted and corrupt officer" to investigate cases alleging that rogue officers were being employed for these probes under the Siddaramaiah government.
In response, Sekhar, in an internal communication to his investigation team, said: "False and malicious allegations and threats have been made to deter the Lokayukta SIT from functioning. An accused in crime number 16/4 of the SIT, HD Kumaraswamy, at a press conference made false and malicious allegations and threats.
As you know, the SIT had sought the prosecution sanction of the accused from the competent authority. This accused is on bail... he has done this to deter us from discharging our duties. It appears that his objective is to create fear in the minds of officers of SIT by attacking me." The ADGP told his team that they would continue their work undeterred by political pressure.
To the Congress query that the police officer had worked during his tenure as CM, Kumaraswamy said: "What to say to uneducated and the ignorant? It's true that this officer had also worked in my government. But I didn't allow him to indulge in corruption or to extort money. I kept him under control. Do ministers in the Congress government have the courage to stop him from indulging in corruption?"
Referring to the letter written by Sekhar to his team, Kumaraswamy claimed it was drafted in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee's (KPCC) office. "I do not speak without evidence or context. The letter he wrote was prepared quite well.
After I held a press conference on Saturday morning, I know where that officer went in the evening. I also know which legal experts helped him draft the letter and who else was involved," he stated. KPCC president and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar reacted asking Kumaraswamy to produce evidence of the letter having its genesis in the Congress party office.
Kumaraswamy also accused the Himachal Pradesh cadre IPS officer of producing fake documents to get posted to Karnataka. Sekhar is from Andhra Pradesh and belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.
He took a transfer to Karnataka stating that Himachal Pradesh weather is not suitable for his wife. "In Bengaluru, the officer is constructing a 38-storey building on a storm water drain in his wife's name and no action has been taken," the Union minister alleged. Meanwhile, it's learnt that Sekhar is considering to file a defamation suit and also approach the court against Kumaraswamy.
FIR against BJP leaders
The Tilak Nagar police in Bengaluru on September 28, registered an FIR against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP national president JP Nadda, and others for allegedly misusing the electoral bond scheme to extort money from companies through enforcement agencies.
The FIR was lodged following a court directive and includes charges under Sections 384 (extortion), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 34 (acts done with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The complaint was filed by Adarsh R Iyer, co-president of Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (JSP), who accused the BJP leadership of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy to compel corporations to purchase electoral bonds benefiting the party.
The FIR also names BJP state president BY Vijayendra, former MP Naleen Kumar Kateel and officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Electoral Bond scheme was introduced in 2017 through the Finance Act and was struck down as unconstitutional in February 2024.
Siddaramaiah, facing demands from the BJP for his resignation, criticised the party, saying: "By the BJP's logic, shouldn't Sitharaman resign as well?" Kumaraswamy defending Sitharaman said: "Why should she resign? Have the electoral bonds been deposited in Sitharaman's personal account? Has she abused her power for personal gain like Siddaramaiah?"
Meanwhile, social activist Snehamaiyi Krishna, one of the complainants against Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case, has written to the Enforcement Directorate to inquire into the matter as just a probe by the Lokayukta or a Central Bureau of Investigation will not suffice.
