Will Modi Publicly Apologise To Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah For Making Allegations of Corruption?

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sent a legal notice to Prime Minister Narendra Modi — asking him to publicly apologise for making the relentless allegations of corruption against Siddaramaiah and his Congress government in the poll-bound state.

If Modi does not issue a public apology, he is liable to face defamation charges for Rs 100 crore, the Karnataka CM has warned.

Besides the PM, the notice is also addressed to BJP President Amit Shah; the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa; and the party itself.

Accusing Narendra Modi of having “unabatedly made several defamatory and untrue statements” in his speeches, the notice lists out several instances — Modi's claims that “while the world was talking about ease of doing business”, the Karnataka government was busy with “ease of doing murders”. These remarks also include Modi’s comment that “yaha pe scams or mafia ka nanga naach chal raha hain” and him calling the government “Seeda Rupaiya Sarkar”.

The letter also refers to the insinuation Modi made while addressing a rally in Shivamogga on 5 May, that the costly Hublot wristwatch Siddaramaiah was wearing was a kickback he received in exchange for "business favours" made to a UAE-based company that was interested to invest in the development of Jog Falls.

Dr Girishchandra Varma, a cardiac surgeon who is reportedly an old friend of Siddaramaiah, had clarified over a month before Modi’s insinuation that he had gifted it to the Karnataka CM from his collection, and that he does not own “a single room or an inch of land or any business interest in Karnataka”.  

The letter points out that Siddaramaiah, who received it as a gift from a friend, “has paid tax for it” and declared the source of the watch on the floor of the Parliament, before handing it over “to the Hon'ble Speaker to treat the same as an asset of the state. Accordingly the said watch is the asset of the state and the same is placed in the Cabinet Hall.”  

The earliest instance of the alleged defamatory remarks by Modi that the letter points took place in February this year. “While addressing the public... at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru on 5th February... you have referred to my client’s government as “Congress ki Sarkar 10% ki Sarkar hai”,” the notice reads, drawing the PM’s attention to his allegation that the Karnataka government charges 10% commission as bribe on all projects it approves.

Soon after Modi made this comment, Siddaramaiah had responded by saying, “Being the PM of the country, your words should carry credibility. I request you to substantiate with facts your allegations that corruption and misgovernance are rampant (in my state).”

Days later, addressing a rally in Mysuru, the Prime Minister — instead of providing evidence to bolster his credibility — upped the ante, claiming that after he had made the “10% commission” remark, he received many phone calls informing him that the actual commission being charged was much higher than 10 per cent.  

Asked why the Congress party had to wait for months until just before elections to send a legal notice against these “false” and “defamatory” allegations, MLC and advocate VS Ugrappa, who drafted the letter on behalf of Siddaramaiah, told Newsclick, “We were hoping BJP’s legal team or its well-wishers will advise him to desist from making such statements. So we waited.”

However, inspired by Modi’s incorrect statements, the BJP, instead of reigning him in, started publishing advertisements depicting his allegations, Ugrappa said.

The notice describes in detail one such advertisement — among many that appeared in print, electronic and social media that the notice refers to.

This advertisement appeared on various television channels, says the notice, and is described thus:

“An actor with his back to the audience is seen. He is clearly intended to be representing my client (Siddaramaiah). The back of his chair says “CM”. He is wearing a heavy gold watch.. The actor sitting on the CM’s chair hands... gift to a man. An arrow points to the heavy gold watch on his wrist, with words underneath saying, “10% commission watch?” The gift handed over to the man is encircled with question marks, with accompanying text saying, “Indira Canteen!! Crores and crores looted!!”

The Indira Canteen mocked in this advertisement as a scam is a chain of small canteens set up in each ward of Bangalore to serve breakfast at Rs 5 and lunch at Rs 10.

Another advertisement that appeared in the newspapers on 3 May allegedly shows Siddaramaiah “in the witness box along with Rahul Gandhi”, both of whom are accused of being “responsible for 3800 farmer suicides, alliances with murders of patriots, poisoning society by communalising and dividing people, inciting caste-based violence as well as forging alliances with organisations that have terror links.”  

The notice concludes by addressing Modi, Amit Shah, Yeddyurappa and the BJP with the following words:

“You have jointly and severally committed libel and offences punishable under Sections 499, 500, 501 and 502 of the Indian Penal Code. Therefore you are called upon to cease and desist from making such statements forwith and give an unconditional public apology immediately through electronic, print and social media etc. in which the statements and advertisements have appeared. In the event you fail to do so, please note that you have rendered yourself liable to civil and criminal action and payment of exemplary damages of... Rupees One Hundred Crores... and my client shall initiate appropriate legal proceedings as per provisions of the law of the land...”

Ugrappa, who drafted the legal notice, has told Newsclick that the Karnataka Congress party will wait for a week or two. “If Modi fails to tender an apology by then, we will initiate legal proceedings.”

Should there be any truth in Modi’s allegations, Siddaramaiah, who has sought to put Modi in the dock for ‘defamation’, will be risking proceedings against himself if the PM provides any evidence to back his claims. Surely, with all the paraphernalia of intelligence and investigative agencies at his disposal, acquiring evidence should not be an impossible, if Modi has in fact been speaking the truth.

But has he? We will know if and when Siddaramaiah follows up on his threat and initiates legal proceedings for defamation.