BENGALURU: The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Monday held a state-wide protest against the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot giving sanction for investigation against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with irregularities in the allotment of alternative sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority.

Taking to the streets, Congress leaders and workers staged dharnas, foot-marches and rallies in district headquarters, holding placards denouncing the action and raising slogans against the Governor.

“The Governor is making a case out of nothing. This is a murder of democracy and we will protest it," Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, said on Sunday.

Demonstrations were held in various parts of the state including Bengaluru, Udupi, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Vijayapura, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Tumakuru and Mysuru.

The Chief Minister has said: "There is no case against me, and the Governor's decision is unconstitutional."

Siddaramaiah alleged that the Governor has become a puppet in the hands of the Central Government, and granting sanction against him is nothing but a sinister conspiracy to destabilise an elected government.

"A grand conspiracy has been hatched to undermine our government. The BJP and JD(S) leaders in the state are all part of this scheme. Just as they did in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Delhi, they are now attempting to execute their plans in Karnataka," he has said.