A case will be filed against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a land scam case. Justice M. Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said, “It is necessary to inquire into the matters mentioned in the petition. The Chief Minister’s family is involved in the case, so the petition is dismissed.
On August 16, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot had given permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Indian Civil Security Code (BNSS) of 2023. CM challenged this decision in the High Court on August 19.
A case has been filed against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law and some responsible for the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. Activist TJ Abraham, Pradeep and Snehamoyi Krishna allege that the CM, in connivance with MUDA officials, acquired the expensive sites fraudulently.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the teacher in the name of Siddaramaiah. Ravivarma Kumar appeared. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of the governor. Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty presented her arguments on behalf of the state government. Maninder Singh, Prabhuling K. Navadgi, Lakshmi Iyengar, Ranganatha Reddy, K.G. Raghavan and others presented arguments on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Notice issued by the Karnataka Governor’s Secretariat regarding the proceedings against Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah said: truth will prevail Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he was not afraid of being investigated but would seek legal opinion on whether or not an investigation could be conducted in the matter.
He added that I believe in the law and the constitution. In the end, the truth will prevail.
What is MUDA case In 1992, the urban development organization Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) took land from farmers and developed it into a residential area. In exchange, landowners acquired under MUDA’s 50/50 incentive program received 50% of the site on the developed land or an alternative site.
In 1992, MUDA had denotified these lands and separated them from agricultural lands. In 1998, MUDA denotified part of the acquired land and returned it to farmers. This means that once again, this land has become agricultural land again.
MUDA scam linked to 3 acres of land In fact, Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvati owned 3 acres and 16 guntas of land in Kesare village of Mysuru district. This land was gifted to him by Parvati’s brother Mallikarjun in 2010. MUDA had developed the Devanur Stage 3 layout without acquiring this land.
However, in exchange for this land, in 2022, the Basavaraj Bommai government handed over 14 sites to Parvati in the posh South Mysuru district. Their total area according to the 50:50 ratio was 38,283 square feet.
The BJP and JDS took out a seven-day march from Bengaluru to Mysuru from August 3 against the MUDA scam. JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy and Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra also participated.
What are the allegations against Siddaramaiah?
The price of the Vijayanagar land that Siddaramaiah’s wife received as compensation from MUDA is much higher than that of her land in the entire village. Snehamayi Krishna filed a complaint against Siddaramaiah. In this, he accused Siddaramaiah of forging documents to claim the MUDA site as his family property. From 1998 to 2023, Siddaramaiah held influential positions as deputy CM or CM in Karnataka. Although he was not directly associated with this scam, he had used his power to help his relatives, Mallikarjuna, brother of Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvati, who had illegally purchased 3 acres of denoted land in 2004. Siddaramaiah was Deputy CM of the Congress-JDS coalition government in Karnataka in 2004-05. Under this program, landowners whose land has been acquired by MUDA. They were allocated alternative sites of greater value as compensation. In addition, real estate agents have also been provided with land under this program. Revealing the land allotment scam, RTI activist said in the last four years, over 6,000 sites were allotted under the 50:50 scheme, MP and spokesperson of the BJP, Sambit. Patra said it was a scam of Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 crore. Siddaramaiah’s family is one of them. Congress remains silent on this matter. Thanks to the governor who ordered an investigation.
Request for investigation into fraud On July 5, 2024, activist Kurubara Shanthkumar wrote a letter to the governor saying, “The Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru wrote 17 letters to MUDA between February 8, 2023 and November 9, 2023. On November 27, the Development Authority urban government of Karnataka received a letter to investigate the 50:50 ratio scam and the MUDA commissioner. Regardless, the MUDA commissioner has allocated thousands of sites.
Siddaramaiah said: his wife got land in BJP government Regarding the allegations, Siddaramaiah said: In 2014, when I was CM, the wife had demanded compensation. I had told my wife not to ask for compensation as long as I am CM. In 2020-21, under the BJP government, compensation land was allotted to the wife. The BJP is just trying to make false allegations against me.
Opposition parties protested in the Assembly building against the MUDA scam.
BJP says: CM should resign, vice CM says there is no question of resignation
Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra: “The BJP is continuously fighting against the corrupt Congress government. He said the BJP was hatching a political conspiracy against us. The High Court clearly stated in its ruling that the decision taken by the governor was correct. Accepting this decision, the CM should resign immediately.
Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar: “There is no question of resignation of the Chief Minister. He didn’t do anything wrong. He is not involved in any scam. This is a political conspiracy by the BJP. We are at their side, we support them. He is doing good work for the country, the party and the state.
Karnataka minister says he will appeal to a double bench or to the Supreme Court Karnataka Minister Ramalinga Reddy said, “We have faith in the law. We will fight him. We will appeal the decision to the dual bench, other chambers and the Supreme Court. We stand with the Chief Minister.