Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Wednesday questioned the continuation of Housing Minister V. Somanna in the Government and argued that he should either voluntarily resign or Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai must sack him, in the wake a special court in Bengaluru ordering issue of summons to him while holding that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against him in a corruption case.
Mr. Siddaramaiah raised the issue during the zero hour in the Legislative Assembly and said the special court rejected the ‘B’ report submitted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2018 stating that allegations of amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of income could not be established against Mr. Somanna.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said Mr. Sommanna had been asked to appear before the court to explain how he acquired the assets after he became councillor, MLA, MLC, and Minister. A case would be registered under the Anti-Corruption Act, 1988. “How can he (Mr. Somanna) continue when the case is registered?” the Congress leader asked.
The complainant, Ramakrishna of Bengaluru, had alleged that Mr. Somanna had purchased a large number of sites and properties in Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Mangaluru in his name and in the name of his family members, and his assets exceeded around 204% of his known sources of income.
JD(S) member H.D. Revanna, however, cited several past cases and defended Mr. Somanna. He said there was no need for the Minister to quit.
Law and Parliamentary Minister J.C. Madhuswamy said no chargesheet had been filed against the Minister. The court had also not commenced hearing on the matter, he said and ruled out the Minister’s resignation.
