Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday that he would not hesitate to arrest Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy if needed in the mining case. "The situation comes, Kumaraswamy will be arrested without hesitation in the mining case. However, the situation to arrest Kumaraswamy has not yet arisen," the Chief Minister told media persons at Ginigera airstrip in Koppal.
"He said that though the report by the Lokayukta Special Investigation Team, praying for permission from the Governor to file a chargesheet, was submitted long back, no action has been taken by the Governor as of now.
"This has led the SIT to submit another petition," the Chief Minister said.
"Why has Congress not questioned the SIT report that had indicted me in the mining case? How can Kumaraswamy continue as chief minister?"
Earlier, Kumaraswamy said he was not afraid of the developments in connection with the Karnataka Lokayukta seeking sanction for his probe into the alleged irregularities against him and asked "why SIT report has not been sent to the Supreme Court".
Tuesday saw Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticizing Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over his 'selective' approach and said the Governor has adopted a 'biased' approach on the consent issue needed for an investigation against Kumaraswamy.
"Sought consent from the Governor for the investigation against Kumaraswamy by SIT in November 2023 in the SSVM case, but he did not grant any consent," Siddaramaiah said.
It is alleged that the illegal activities were committed in 2007 when Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister. He is accused of awarding a contract for mining 550 acres of land to SSVM Company.
The SIT is conducting an investigation on the basis of a report relating to illegal mining by the then Karnataka Lokayukta, Justice N. Santhosh Hegde.
Various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act have been pressed against Kumaraswamy. The SIT had approached Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for his sanction to file a charge sheet against the former chief minister on November 21, 2023.
On July 29, 2024, the Governor responded to the matter by writing a letter to the SIT, seeking clarifications; on Monday, the SIT submitted the clarifications to the Governor's queries.
The response came with the SIT again seeking permission from the Governor to file a charge sheet against Kumaraswamy.
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