Chief Minister Siddaramaiah spoke to reporters at the Mysuru airport on Sunday. | Photo credit: MA Sriram
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah rejected the BJP’s demand for a CBI probe into the recent Ballari violence that claimed one life.
Taking questions from reporters in Mysuru on Sunday, Mr Siddaramaiah questioned the BJP’s moral right to demand a CBI probe into the Ballari episode when the saffron party failed to hand over even a single case sought by the then opposition Congress to the central agency during its rule in the state.
On the contrary, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that as Chief Minister he had entrusted several cases to the CBI for investigation, including the lottery scam and the Soujanya case.
Reacting to the BJP’s plan to launch an agitation on the Ballari issue, the chief minister said it was left to the opposition to decide its course of protest but the government would respond to it.
When his attention was drawn to BJP leaders B. Sriramulu and G. Janardhan Reddy attacking Congress leaders using allegedly disrespectful references, Mr. Siddaramaiah said it exposed the BJP’s political culture.
“Why did they say earlier that Mr. Janardhana Reddy should not come to Ballari? Who acted as if it was Ballari republic? Justice Santosh Hegde gave the report when he was Lokayukta,” he said.
Mr. Siddaramaiah also recalled that the Congress leaders were not given any space during the BJP regime to campaign for their candidate in the Ballari Lok Sabha elections. He said he eventually held a public meeting near the Kuruba community temple in Ballari.
“This one example is enough to show that they did not believe in democracy, but they believed in dictatorship,” he said.
Claiming that the BJP does not even believe in the parliamentary system, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the Congress need not learn from those who have resorted to “goondagiri”.
Responding to the BJP’s claim that the Congress had created a “Karnataka Republic”, the Chief Minister said that the Congress party believes in democracy, the Constitution and its ideals.
He alleged that there was a political motive behind the BJP’s plan to hold an agitation in Ballari.
Reacting to the BJP’s claim that the decision to convene a special session of the legislature was a “political misappropriation”, Mr Siddaramaiah said the Constitution mandated that a joint session of the legislature should be convened in the new year.
The session will also demand the revival of MGNREGA brought in by the UPA government by withdrawing the newly introduced VB-G RAM G Act.
On the Lokayukta’s raid on the Deputy Excise Commissioner and his mention of the Excise Minister’s name in the audio recording, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the government would not prevent any legal action in the matter.
The chief minister also noted that Kempaiah, who was the president of the contractors’ association, had alleged that 40% commission was collected during the BJP regime.
Published – 18 Jan 2026 19:43 IST