Congress leaders in the State on Sunday demanded the dismissal of the State Government, describing the land acquisitions made by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Minister for Information Technology and Bio-Technology Katta Subramanya Naidu as “scandalous”.
“It is a clear case of nepotism, favouritism and misuse of power. We have requested the Governor to dismiss the Government,” Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah told presspersons after he and leaders of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) submitted a 103-page memorandum to the Karnataka Governor. The delegation demanded the Chief Minister's dismissal and a CBI inquiry into the land scams.
“It is a scandalous government. It does not have the moral authority to continue in office even for a second,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said referring to the Chief Minister's alleged denotification of land for the benefit of his sons and the controversy surrounding Mr. Naidu over land acquired by Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board during his tenure as Industries Minister. KPCC president R. V. Deshpande demanded the IT&BT Minister's resignation “on moral grounds”. He added: “If he fails to do so, I urge the Chief Minister to dismiss him.” Last week Katta Jagadish, Mr. Naidu's son and a BBMP councillor, was arrested for allegedly bribing a witness in the Lokayukta investigation into the allegations.
The alleged land scams that the Chief Minister and the Minister are mired in “are in violation of the oath of office and against the rule of law. Several crores… have been defrauded by these persons for their selfish ends at the cost of the exchequer and farmers,” said the memorandum.
The Congress would organise a rally on October 6 if the government failed to respond to its demands, Mr. Deshpande said. KPCC working president D.K. Shivakumar was present.
