Minister for Forest, Environment, and Ecology B. Eshwar Khandre
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Hours after Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot sanctioned prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged irregularities in allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre accused the Governor of acting as an ‘agent’ of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He urged President Droupadi Murmu to sack Mr. Gehlot.
After receiving the communication from the Governor on August 17, several ministers gathered at the Chief Minister’s residence in Bengaluru and condemned the Governor’s action. They are likely to meet the Governor in the evening, sources indicated.
“The Governor either should resign on his own or should be sacked by President Murmu,” Mr. Khandre said.
“It was not good on the part of the Governor, who holds a constitutional post, to act on politically motivated allegations by the BJP. I did not expect the Governor to indulge in such low-level politics,” Mr. Khadre said.
“The BJP has been trying to destabilise the Congress government using the Governor’s office. The Governor has acted under the pressure of the BJP’s central leadership,” the Minister alleged.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge said the sanction for proceeding against the Chief Minister in the MUDA case has been ‘orchestrated by the Central Government’.
“Raj Bhavan is being misused as a tool by the BJP to undermine a democratically elected government. The constitutional head of the State is sparking a crisis to appease his political masters,” he said on X.
“The Central Government may throw its full weight behind this, but we stand firm with the Constitution on our side,” Mr. Kharge said.
