Karnataka Congress leaders, headed by state party chief and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, marched to Raj Bhavan in protest against Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, accusing him of biased behavior against the Congress party and demanding the prosecution of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy in a mining lease case. Notably, CM Siddaramaiah did not attend the meeting with the Governor.
On Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar emphasised that the Congress is demanding fairness from the Governor. “The case against HD Kumaraswamy has undergone a complete inquiry. We urge the Governor to grant prosecution sanction and take appropriate legal action as per the Constitution. While there may be external pressures, we hope that good sense will ultimately prevail,” Shivakumar remarked.
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Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, commenting on the planned protest, said, “Today, we are holding a protest over the Governor's decision regarding the prosecution permission of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Several other cases are also pending before the Governor, but he has not made any decisions on them. Our demand is why he is not considering these cases and granting permission for prosecution.”
Echoing similar view, Karnataka Congress leader BK Hariprasad said, "Still, after a series of protests, Governor has not changed his stand. So, finally all the legislators and MPs are going to the Governor's House in protest that he is acting in a biased way and is not representing the state. The way in which he is acting, it seems that he is representing only BJP. That is why, we are protesting."
The march comes after the BJP’s “padayatra” demanding the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over a land allotment controversy.