Congress demands Karnataka CM's resignation after HC refuses to quash corruption case

Congress on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa after the Karnataka High Court refused to quash a corruption case against him. Terming it as a "stinging indictment", Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala opined that the BJP leader does not have the right to continue in office anymore. According to him, a fair probe is only possible if the Karnataka CM puts in his papers. Moreover, he asserted that this occasion would show whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi could live up to his promise of ‘Na Khaunga, Na Khane Doonga’ (Neither will I indulged in corruption, nor allow anyone else to indulge in it). 

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Karnataka HC refuses to grant relief to Yediyurappa

As per a private complaint, BS Yediyurappa allegedly denotified a parcel of government-acquired land and allocated it to entrepreneurs in his capacity as the Deputy Chief Minister in 2006. While the case was taken by the Lokayukta in February 2015, Yediyurappa moved the Karnataka HC in 2019 with the plea that the case against one of the other accused persons- Congress leader RV Deshpande was quashed by the court on October 9, 2015. Though the HC stayed the proceedings against the BJP leader in April 2019, it ruled on Tuesday that the case cannot be quashed. 

Rejecting the comparison with Deshpande's case, Justice Cunha observed that the allegations against the Karnataka CM are distinct. He noted that the allegation prima facie discloses a cognizable offence that needs to be investigated. At the same time, the court added that it would not be right to give a prima facie decision in this case when the facts are incomplete and the evidence has not been presented before the court. The single-judge bench also pulled up the Lokayukta for not completing the investigation between 2015 and 2019, when there was no stay. 

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