Bengaluru:

Karnataka anti-corruption watchdog Lokayukta said Wednesday it had found no evidence incriminating Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, or his wife, in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority land scam case.

In a notice to the complainant – Snehamayi Krishna, one three anti-corruption activists who wrote last year to Governor Thawarchand Gehlot, seeking Siddaramaiah’s prosecution – the Lokayukta said there is no material to prove charges against the ex-Chief Minister and the other accused – his wife, BM Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Devaraju, who owned the plots in question.

“Since allegations against Accused No 1 (Siddaramaiah) to Accused No 4 have not been proven due to lack of evidence, the final report is being submitted to the High Court,” the Lokayukta told Krishna.

Krishna has been given a week to respond, after which the Lokayukta will submit a final report.

However, compensatory land allotments by MUDA between 2016 and 2024 – including those to Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, when too he was Chief Minister, and which are at the heart of the controversy – will remain “under scrutiny”, and a supplementary report will be given to the court.

The MUDA land scam pertains to allotment of land to Siddaramaiah’s wife.

Anti-corruption activists had alleged irregularities in the process – the grant of plots in a posh neighbourhood in Mysuru in exchange for land on the outskirts – cost the state Rs 45 crore.

They wrote to the Governor, in accordance with the law, to file a case the Chief Minister. That request was approved, but the Governor’s nod was swiftly challenged in the Karnataka High Court.

In September the court rejected the challenge and upheld the Governor’s order.

The case against Siddaramaiah was filed 24 hours later.

The Chief Minister has repeatedly denied any impropriety in these transactions, claiming the 14 plots of land allotted to his wife were, in fact, gifts from her brother.

These complaints named the Chief Minister and his wife, as well as his son S Yathindra and senior officials from the urban development body. In the ensuing fallout, MUDA chief K Mari Gowda, who is known to be close to Siddaramaiah, stepped down, saying he had been “instructed” to do so.

This was after the Chief Minister’s wife offered to surrender the parcels of land in question, and MUDA agreed to re-take possession on condition it would not affect the course of the investigation.

The clean chit, although not confirmed yet, for Siddaramaiah will be seen as a massive political win for the ruling Congress, which came under heavy fire from the BJP after the allegations broke cover.

The BJP and the JDU, a former Congress ally now with the saffron party, had demanded Siddaramaiah resign and called on the Central Bureau of Investigation to take up the case.

Any CBI action, though, was pre-empted by the state withdrawing general consent, on grounds it is “biased”, for the federal agency to act on its territory, a move criticised by the opposition.

Siddaramaiah had then refused to resign, pointing out the investigation into charges against him had uncovered nothing and he had not yet been convicted of any crime.

“I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally,” he said after the Karnataka High Court had quashed his challenge to the Governor’s sanction.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached more than 140 units of immovable assets worth about Rs 300 crore in a MUDA-linked money laundering case involving Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others.

The attachment is part of a money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in land allotment by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The attached properties are registered in the name of various individuals who are working as real-estate businessmen and agents, the federal agency said in a statement.

“It is alleged that Siddaramaiah (a Congress leader) used his political influence to get compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife Smt. BM Parvathi in lieu of 3 acres 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA.

“The land was originally acquired by MUDA for Rs 3,24,700. The compensation in the form of 14 sites at posh locality is worth Rs 56 crore,” the agency said.

The chief minister, who has been questioned by the Karnataka Lokayukta in this case, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by him or his family, saying the opposition was “scared” of him and that these were politically motivated charges.

The role of ex-MUDA commissioner D B Natesh has emerged as “instrumental” in the illegal allotment of compensation sites to Parvathi, the agency said.

It said searches conducted in the case found that a large number of sites, other than the 14 allotted to Parvathi, have been “illegally” allotted by the MUDA as compensation to real estate businessmen, who in turn have sold these sites at “huge” profit and generated huge amount of “unaccounted” cash.

The profit so generated has been “laundered” and shown as derived out of legitimate sources, it claimed.

Sites have been allotted in the name of “benami and dummy” persons of influential names and real estate businessmen, the agency alleged.

Incriminating “evidence” regarding payment of illegal gratification to then MUDA chairman and MUDA Commissioner in the form of immovable property, MUDA sites, cash, etc., were recovered during the raids, it alleged.

It has also been found that money was routed through a co-operative society for purchase of property, luxury vehicles etc in the name of relatives of G T Dinesh Kumar, who was the previous commissioner of MUDA, the agency alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah – battling vehement calls to quit over the alleged Mysuru land scam – counterattacked Friday, flagging Janata Dal Secular boss HD Kumaraswamy and asking why his party’s ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, had not demanded his resignation too.

“Which government does HD Kumaraswamy belong to? There is an FIR… why did he not resign? He is a minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet,” he said Friday afternoon. Mr Kumaraswamy faces a police case over claims he provided “false information” before the Lok Sabha election.

The JDS boss is currently the Union Heavy Industries Minister. He lost no time in hitting back on X, beginning with a “‘uighe, uighe to your sidvilasa” – which translates roughly as mocking praise.

He pointed to attempts by Siddaramaiah’s earlier government to form an Anti-Corruption Bureau by clipping the state Lokayukta’s wings, and contrasted that with him now trying to ensure the Lokayukta, and not the CBI, a federal agency, conducts inquiries against him.

“Isn’t this karma, Mr Siddaramaiah? ACB was also dismissed by the High Court… and now you have sidelined the Lokayukta and closed the door for the CBI to enter the state…” he jeered, referring to a 2022 verdict that said the then state government could not set up an ACB as a Lokayukta is operating.

Mr. @siddaramaiah..
Ughe Ughe to your ‘Sidvilasa’

Then: To escape from scams, you build a ‘samadhi’ for Lokayukta and formed ACB!

Now: The same Lokayukta is a place you found to get rid of ‘Mudahagaran’!!

Isn’t it Karma Mr siddaramaiah?
ACB was also dismissed by the High Court…

— ಹೆಚ್.ಡಿ.ಕುಮಾರಸ್ವಾಮಿ | H.D.Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) September 27, 2024

Siddaramaiah’s jab at HD Kumaraswamy underlines the pressure – from the BJP, the JDS, and even by some within his own party – the Chief Minister faces in his battle to retain his post.

READ | “Request…”: Under-Fire Siddaramaiah Faces ‘Quit’ Calls From Within Party

So far, though, he is defiant. On Thursday, after a special court ordered a police case and directed the Lokayukta to finish inquiries in three months, he declared “I am not afraid”.

“I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally,” he said after a second setback in as many days. On Wednesday the High Court had quashed his challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s sanction to prosecute a sitting Chief Minister.

READ | “Governor’s Action As Per Law”: Big Setback For Siddaramaiah

The Chief Minister on Thursday also hit out at Mr Modi after the Prime Minister’s sharp comments about the Congress government in Karnataka at a rally in poll-bound Haryana.

Prime Minister @narendramodi, in his usual reckless manner, has claimed there is infighting within the Karnataka Congress. It seems the PM has either misread or deliberately twisted the recent media reports, confusing BJP’s internal chaos with Congress. I demand that he…

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) September 26, 2024

In a lengthy post on X Siddaramaiah told the PM “don’t throw stones while sitting in a glass house”, pointing to what he said was infighting in his party’s state unit.

MUDA Land Scam Case  

Siddaramaiah faces an inquiry into claims his wife, Parvathi, was allotted multiple plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere – an exchange that allegedly cost the state losses of at least Rs 4,000 crore – taken for infrastructure projects.

He has firmly denied the charge; last month he said he had not done anything illegal in a political career of four decades, and expressed confidence the judiciary would absolve him.

READ | “In 40 Years Did Nothing Wrong”: Siddaramaiah Amid Land Scam Row

The Chief Minister, who has been firmly backed by his party; his deputy, DK Shivakumar; and members of his Cabinet, has also, so far, dismissed calls to summon the CBI, insisting the inquiry will be handled by the Mysuru branch of the state Lokayukta.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, his government withdrew general consent for the federal agency in a move many see as a pre-emptive measure in case the High Court orders a CBI probe.

READ | “CBI Biased”: Karnataka Withdraws Permission To Operate In State

The agency now cannot investigate in Karnataka without the state government’s permission.

Law Minister HK Patil refused any link between this move and the land scam allegations facing the Chief Minister, expressing, as many other opposition parties have, “concerns about the misuse of the agency”. “They are biased… that is why are taking this decision,” he said.

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Bengaluru:

“I am not afraid…” Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah declared Wednesday, shortly after a trial court said a police case must be filed against him – based on a complaint by activist Snehamayi Krishna – in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority land scam case.

Earlier today the Special Court of the People’s Representatives had directed the state’s Lokayukta to conduct an inquiry and submit a report in three months. The Chief Minister’s response was swift. “I will fight. I am not afraid of anything. We are ready to face the investigation. I will fight this legally.”

However, the activist whose complaint will feed the case against the Chief Minister is not fully satisfied, and has said he wants the investigation to “happen by the CBI only”. “The court said the probe will happen by Lokayukta but, once FIR is filed… we will approach Karnataka High Court,” he declared. 

The Chief Minister will now face an inquiry into claims his wife, Parvathi, was allotted multiple plots of land in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere – an exchange that allegedly cost the state losses of at least Rs 4,000 crore – taken for infrastructure projects.

Siddaramaiah has firmly denied the charge; last month he said he had not done anything illegal in a political career spanning four decades, and expressed confidence the judiciary would absolve him.

This is the second setback to the Congress leader in as many days; on Tuesday the High Court dismissed his challenge to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot sanctioning his prosecution in the MUDA case. Siddaramaiah argued Mr Gehlot did not “apply his mind”, but the court disagreed, ruling the Governor “did apply his mind in abundance”. “No fault in the Governor’s actions,” the court said.

READ | “Governor’s Action As Per Law”: Big Setback For Siddaramaiah

In passing its order, the High Court also rolled back its August 19 order to the trial court – to not take action against the Chief Minister till his petition claiming Mr Gehlot’s action as “illegal” is settled.

After the order Siddaramaiah underlined his confidence in the judicial system and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “revenge politics”, stating, “I believe in the law… The truth will finally win.”

The MUDA land scam row has become a major flashpoint, with the BJP and its ally, the Janata Dal Secular, targeting the ruling Congress and demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation.

On Tuesday, after the High Court’s verdict, the BJP held vociferous protests across the state once again calling on the Chief Minister to quit. The party’s state unit boss, BY Vijayendra, pointed to the court’s ruling and slammed the Congress for saying the allegations are a “political conspiracy”.

READ | “Siddaramaiah Must Quit”: BJP After Chief Minister’s Land Scam Setback

“BJP has been relentlessly fighting against the corrupt Congress government… the High Court has clearly said the decision by the Governor is correct. The Chief Minister should resign immediately…”

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi called the verdict a “slap on the Congress government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah”. “The Karnataka High Court has answered all questions that were raised (and now) Siddaramaiah should resign, so an impartial investigation can be conducted by the CBI…”

Ramping up pressure on Siddaramaiah, BJP workers tried to gherao Siddaramaiah’s Bengaluru residence, prompting police – who had been placed on high alert – to take dozens into custody.

The BJP-Congress face-off over the MUDA scam allegations also comes as the two parties go head-to-head in next week’s Haryana Assembly election and the ongoing election in Jammu and Kashmir.

It also drew sharp barbs from Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in Haryana’s Sonipat this afternoon; Mr Modi referred to the Congress’ Karnataka government and criticised Siddaramaiah.

The Congress, meanwhile, has come out swinging in support of Siddaramaiah. The party has claimed a “conspiracy” against its Chief Minister, pointing to corruption allegations that have landed other opposition leaders – including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – in jail.

#WATCH | Bengaluru: Karnataka HC dismisses petition by CM Siddaramaiah challenging Governor’s sanction for his prosecution in alleged MUDA scam.

Deputy CM DK Shivakumar says, “I am telling you again, there is no setback to the CM. It is a big conspiracy on all our leaders,… pic.twitter.com/VpLcSWUDyi

— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2024

Immediately after the High Court verdict Siddaramaiah’s deputy, DK Shivakumar, who is also the Congress’ state unit boss, said “there is no question (of the Chief Minister resigning)… he has not done anything wrong and is not involved in any scam. This is a political conspiracy by the BJP…”

Siddaramaiah has also been backed by his ministers, including Priyank Kharge, who is the son of Congress boss Mallikarjun Kharge, and Ramalinga Reddy, who said his boss is “100 per cent clean”.

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