BJP, JD(S) to stage protest on August 19 demanding Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's resignation

Bengaluru: Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka on Sunday announced that the combined opposition legislators will be holding a protest in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Vidhana Soudha here on Monday, demanding the chief minister’s resignation to ensure free and fair investigation in the scams.

Ashoka’s announcement came after the ruling Congress called for a state-wide protest against the Governor’s sanction of prosecution against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in connection with the alleged site allotment scam in Mysuru Urban Development Authority. 

Speaking to reporters, Ashoka said, “I have already held discussions with Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy in this regard and he has assured that all his party MLAs will be joining the protest on Monday.”

He said that the electorate was in the hope of a corruption-free clean governance by the Congress. The voters have now realised that whenever the Congress comes to power, they are guaranteed of a corruption-ridden government.

“In his previous term (2013-18), Siddaramaiah, who considers himself Mr Clean in politics, had 65 cases of corruption, including infamous cases such as Hublot wrist watch and the Arkavathy redo scam. But he got away by weakening the Lokayukta and forming the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). The ACB justified its formation by ensuring a clean chit in all his cases,” the leader of the Opposition alleged.

In a strong rebuttal to the Congress expediting investigations into the alleged scams during the previous government, Ashoka said: “The Congress is in power. Why were they hesitating for the last 15 months to expedite investigations against us? Who has stopped them from doing it,” he questioned.