Land row: Top Congress leadership backs Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah

New Delhi: The Congress high command threw its weight behind Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah over land allotment controversy and termed it as a BJP plot to destabilise the state government.

Siddaramaih and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar travelled to Delhi on Friday afternoon for a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and senior party leaders to discuss political developments in Karnataka. This was their second visit to Delhi within a month. Emerging from the meeting, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala told reporters that this was BJP's ploy to target their "Dalit chief minister". "We stand behind our chief minister and stand united," said Surjewala.

The meeting came amid a controversy over land allotments in Mysuru to Siddaramaiah's wife. On August 16, Karnataka Governor granted sanction to three private individuals to file a police complaint against the CM and others.


Siddaramaiah has challenged the sanction order in the Karnataka HC, which adjourned the matter till August 29 and directed special courts not to conduct further proceedings in private complaints seeking orders for filing FIRs against the CM.