BENGALURU: Congress government in Karnataka withdrew Thursday “general consent” to CBI for any new probe against public servants in the state on the ground that the agency was biased. The step coincides with BJP‘s clamour for a CBI probe into Mysore Urban Development Authority land-allotment case involving CM Siddaramaiah‘s wife.
“It’s clear central government isn’t using its instrumentalities judiciously.We’ll verify each case and give consent,” law and parliamentary affairs minister H K Patil said after a cabinet meeting.
Karnataka joins non-BJP states like Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, Jharkhand, and Punjab in revoking ‘general consent’.
The agency was automatically entitled to general consent to probe central government employees posted in Karnataka under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. That order has been revoked.
CBI can now start a probe in the state only if a court of law orders one. The state govt’s withdrawal of general consent won’t affect any ongoing CBI inquiry. Sources alleged that CBI had been using the now-withdrawn provision to probe even state govt officials.
Patil said Congress government’s decision was meant to protect the federal structure. “We demand that every CBI investigation be routed through the state government,” he said.
The opposition sees the move as an attempt to shield former minister B Nagendra, arrested in the Valmiki Corporation scam, and CM Siddaramaiah, who is under scrutiny in the Muda case. Karnataka high court on Monday upheld gubernatorial sanction for a probe into the CM’s alleged role in allotment of plots to his wife. The next day, a special court in Mysuru ordered a Lokayukta investigation into the Muda case.
Patil dismissed any link between the govt’s move and the Muda or Valmiki cases.
Speculation was rife that CBI might step in after Karnataka governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot sought a detailed report from the state govt on alleged misappropriation of Rs 387 crore in Muda projects. A fresh complaint against Siddaramaiah was filed on Aug 27, accusing him of unauthorised sanction of work in his constituency, Varuna, and neighbouring Srirangapatna.