Karnataka: 16 Ministers face criminal cases in Siddaramaiah Cabinet

A fresh controversy has erupted over 16 of the 34 Ministers in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress Cabinet in Karnataka facing criminal cases as per the election affidavits submitted by them to the Election Commission. Over 19 cases are pending against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress State chief.

Bengaluru (Karnataka) : The Congress has come to power in the Karnataka State with a huge majority. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has formed his full Cabinet and the Ministers are allocated portfolios. The administration of the Congress government in the southern State has started. Meanwhile, a political controversy is going on about the criminals being faced by many of the 34 ministers in Siddaramaiah's cabinet.

According to the election affidavits submitted to the Election Commission, out of the 34 ministers of the Siddaramaiah Cabinet, 16 have criminal cases against them. In some cases, chargesheets have been filed. There are 42 cases against Minister B Nagendra, out of which 21 cases are being investigated in the Lokayukta.

Four cases are under investigation by the Central Investigation Department (CID). A case was registered against Nagendra under the Mines and Minerals Control Development Act, 1957 and the Karnataka Forest Act, 1957. Similarly, 19 cases are pending against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. Sivakumar is facing 6 serious cases including causing the disappearance of evidence, giving false information to criminals, and forgery for the purpose of bribery and cheating.

There are over 13 cases against CM Siddaramaiah including undue influence, bribery and illegal meeting pending trial. There are a total of 6 serious cases against Minister Jameer Ahmed Khan, which included cases of murder, neglect, assault, adultery, property and criminal intimidation.

According to an affidavit filed by Minister S S Mallikarjun, a case has been registered against him under various sections of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, for illegal housing of wildlife. Other than that, there are 9 cases against minister Priyank Kharge, 7 against Ishwar Khandre, 4 against Ramalingareddy, 5 against MB Patil, 3 against Dr G Parameshwar, two cases each against H K Patil, D Sudhakar and Satish Jarakiholi. Accordingly, one case each against Krishna Byregowda, K H Muniappa and N Cheluvarayaswamy is pending.