BENGALURU: The leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Siddaramaiah Assembly Thursday demanded that the prime minister BS Yediyurappa resign immediately after an order from a higher court dismissing his petition seeking the dismissal of a longstanding corruption case against him.
Urging the BJP leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi step in and ask Yediyurappa to resign, the congressional senior leader He said that the high command of the saffron party that has been planning to replace the Chief Minister now has a powerful weapon against him.
“I demand the resignation of Mr. Yediyurappa, because his request to annul the FIR against him was rejected by the Karnataka High Court. Therefore, he has no right to continue as Chief Minister for a second,” Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said that the BJP leadership has to immediately intervene and ask Yediyurappa to resign.
On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court had rejected Yediyurappa’s request to quash an FIR against him related to illegal land denotation in 2006-07 when he was the senior deputy minister of the BJP-JD (S) coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy.
Noting that the judge in his order has explained in detail the reason why the investigation must continue and FIR cannot be annulled, Siddaramaiah wanted to know how Yediyurappa could continue as CM.
“As he is the Chief Minister and has powers, there are possibilities to influence the investigation. There can be no fair and impartial investigation, so Yediyurappa should not be in power and should resign immediately.”
That he returns once acquitted, we have no objection, “he said.
If Yediyurappa respects the law and believes in democracy, he must resign immediately, said the CLP leader.
“If he is adamant and does not resign, then the BJP and the prime minister must intervene.
Those who had claimed ‘Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga“(Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motto promising to end corruption) must act,” he said.
He said that if Yediyurappa does not resign, the congress will take to the streets and protest. “… but I think he can resign on his own,” said the congress leader.
“We will decide in the party forum and decide what to do to pressure him to resign …” he said.
Affirming that the Superior Court has said that the FIR cannot be dismissed and that the investigation must be carried out under the supervision of the Lokayukta Siddaramaiah stated that it is because the HC does not trust the Lokayukta police.
“There is a serious accusation against Yediyurappa. Yediyurappa can receive a court order and can even be arrested as it is a crime without bail under the corruption prevention act,” he said in response to a question.
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