The 15-month-old Congress government in Karnataka is tottering under multiple charges of corruption levelled by the opposition BJP, which is ironic since the Congress came to power in 2023 by capitalising on corruption charges against the previous BJP government.

While there have been routine charges of corruption such as those relating to bureaucratic transfers and continued demand for bribes in government offices ever since the Congress came to power, two cases that came to light soon after the Lok Sabha election result in June have seriously dented the government’s image.

The first one relates to the illegal transfer of funds from Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, which led to the resignation and subsequent jailing of ST Development Minister B. Nagendra. The latest case pertains to alleged irregularities in the allotment of compensatory residential sites by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA), and the target in this case has been Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself.

Governor T.C. Gehlot has given his sanction to investigate the allegations against the Chief Minister on a complaint filed by three activists. The BJP has launched a massive protest to highlight the alleged corruption in the government and has been demanding the Chief Minister’s resignation for his alleged role in the MUDA case.

The case

The MUDA case pertains to the allocation of 14 residential sites to the Chief Minister’s wife, Parvathi Siddaramaiah, as compensation for 3.16 acres of agricultural land in her name that the MUDA had used for a project without her consent.

The BJP has alleged that the value of the land that Parvathi Siddaramaiah got in compensation is far greater than what she had foregone. However, these compensatory sites were allotted to her when the BJP was in power. The BJP has argued that Siddaramaiah, as the Leader of the Opposition then, had influenced the decision. And this is what makes the charges of corruption against Siddaramaiah look strange.

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The second allegation, based on the documents that the complainant activists claim to have acquired, is that the original land that Parvathi Siddaramaiah held was itself fraudulently purchased in 2004 by her brother, who gifted it to her in 2010.

The facts of this case are buried deep in multiple old land documents and claims and counterclaims made by various parties, including the family of a farmer who had sold it to Siddaramaiah’s family.

While only a court of law can establish the veracity of these claims, those siding with the Chief Minister argue that even if it is assumed that there were irregularities in the land purchase, the liability lies with the brother-in-law, and as such, an investigation against Siddaramaiah would have no meaning.

The BJP suspects Siddaramaiah’s role in this land deal as he was the Deputy Chief Minister between 2004 and 2005, when the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress alliance was in power. However, no documentary evidence has so far emerged to establish his role in it. The activists also claimed that the agricultural land in question existed only on paper and that the claim for the compensation itself was, therefore, fraudulent.

According to the Congress, the question is why did the government-run MUDA honour the claim and settle the compensation when the BJP was in power. It is on these grounds that the Congress has dubbed the Governor’s decision to investigate the allegations against the Chief Minister as politically motivated.

While the Governor acted promptly on the complaints against Siddaramaiah, he has not taken any decision on a Karnataka Lokayukta plea for sanction to prosecute Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy for his involvement in a case of corruption from 2006-07, when he was the Chief Minister. The Governor has also been dragging his feet on three other cases of corruption, all pertaining to former BJP Ministers.

The Chief Minister has challenged the Governor’s decision in the High Court, which is currently hearing the case.

Blow to Congress

All these developments have delivered a serious blow to the Congress in the State just when it is trying to recover from its below-par performance in the Lok Sabha election.

First, Siddaramaiah’s weakened position hits the Congress hard as he is the only mass leader of the party in the State. Second, the Congress has so far had a relatively stronger moral standing to attack the BJP on corruption as two of its previous governments, Siddaramaiah’s first government of 2013-18 and the S.M. Krishna government of 1999-2004, were free of corruption charges, in contrast to the two intervening BJP governments (2008-13 and 2019-23), both of which had an unenviable record of corruption. It is ironic that the Congress is losing this rare moral capital under Siddaramaiah, who has enjoyed a clean image in his political career of more than four decades.

It is not clear how this old and opaque case became public with colourful and confusing toppings. Some observers believe that the power struggle within the Congress between Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is behind the exposure, but Shivakumar has stood by the Chief Minister, at least in public.

Another view attributes the exposure to the bureaucracy sympathetic to the BJP, which the Congress government did not bother to replace after taking charge. Officials and assistants in the offices of most Ministers continue to be those who were close to the previous BJP regime.

Beyond the question of corruption, the MUDA case has brought to the fore three major issues, two of which have national implications while one has more to do with the social underbelly of Karnataka politics.

The first issue pertains to the role of the Governor. The Congress’ argument is that the Governor has abused his discretionary powers to aid the BJP’s game plan of destabilising the government.

The purpose of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, mandating the approval of the competent authority for investigation of corruption charges against public servants is to prevent frivolous charges being levelled against those in responsible positions. But, in this case, the Congress argues, the Governor has done exactly the opposite of the spirit of the law in giving his assent to the probing of flimsy charges.

A full-blown tussle between the government and Raj Bhavan has ensued. With this, Karnataka joins the group of States where the elected governments are at loggerheads with their respective Governors.

Allegations against BJP

Secondly, the allegation against the BJP that it is trying to destabilise the elected government has come to the fore once again. Certain developments in this case have given credence to this allegation. The Congress has been alleging that the BJP’s larger game plan is to destabilise the government with the help of the Governor.Even if one accepts the BJP’s contention that the Chief Minister is guilty of wrongdoing in this case, it is at best a question of his replacement and not about the fall of the government.

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This is exactly what had happened in the case of B.S. Yediyurappa during the first BJP government of 2008-13. After he stepped down as Chief Minister following his indictment by the Karnataka Lokayukta in a corruption case, the BJP government continued in office under two Chief Ministers in quick succession. However, in Siddaramaiah’s case, as soon as charges against him began to appear in the media, BJP leaders began predicting the imminent end of the government itself.

Basangouda Patil Yatnal, a dissident BJP leader, openly said that his party was trying to replace Siddaramaiah with Shivakumar by targeting the former in the MUDA case. There is speculation that if Shivakumar replaces Siddaramaiah, the BJP will press the ongoing corruption cases against him to throw the government into disarray again, so that in the ensuring political turmoil it could either topple the government to precipitate a mid-term election or cobble a majority by resorting to its time-tested “Operation Kamala” by getting Congress MLAs to defect to its side.

OBC consolidation

Thirdly, the MUDA case is apparently causing a backward class consolidation in the State. The OBCs, although not as politically mobilised in the State as the dominant castes, have taken exception to the BJP and its ally JD(S) targeting Siddaramaiah in what they consider a non-existent case of corruption.

In the caste-dominated politics of Karnataka, the dominant Vokkaligas and Lingayats come together to reassert their political supremacy whenever a leader from a non-dominant caste becomes Chief Minister. Before Siddaramaiah, Devaraj Urs was the only non-dominant caste leader to enjoy a second term as Chief Minister. He too had to face incessant charges of corruption.

Now that the Lingayat-supported BJP and the Vokkaliga-dominated JD(S) are in alliance and are mounting a combined attack on Siddaramaiah, the OBC associations and heads of OBC maths across the State have thrown their weight behind the Chief Minister. They have pointed out that while the Governor has shown undue haste in acting against Siddaramaiah, the four leaders in whose cases the Governor withheld assent are all from dominant castes. This, they claim, shows the vulnerability of the OBC leadership in Karnataka.

The Karnataka High Court on August 29 asked the Governor’s office to submit records related to the sanction granted for conducting an investigation against Siddaramaiah in the case. With all sides firming up their next strategy, more dramatic developments are expected to unfold both in Bengaluru and New Delhi.

A. Narayana is a professor of policy and governance at Azim Premji University, Bengaluru.