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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The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has agreed to take back 14 plots of land, which have been at the centre of a massive row and an alleged scam, from the wife of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. 

The chief minister’s wife, BN Parvathi, had written to MUDA and offered to return the plots, stating that she was following her conscience. The 14 plots of land were allotted to her in Vijayanagar Phase 3 and 4, which are prime areas in Mysuru, as compensation for the use of 3.16 acres of land in Kesare village near the city. An anti-corruption activist had complained that this had caused a loss of Rs 45 crore to the state.

The Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate have registered cases against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged scam.

MUDA Commissioner AN Raghunandan said on Tuesday, “According to the provisions of law, we can take back the plots of land. We discussed this with a panel of advocates. We took a decision to take the land back and we have instructed them to cancel the sale deed too.”

“This has no link with the investigation. We will inform the investigators if there is a probability to allot this to someone else. There are provisions in the law. We will inform the Lokayukta and other investigating officers,” he added.

In her letter to the authority, Ms Parvathi said she wanted to return the plots earlier but was advised not to do so because the charges against her husband in the MUDA case were politically motivated.

“My husband, Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of the state, has upheld a strict code of ethics throughout his 40-year political career, remaining entirely free from any kind of blemish… To me, no house, plot, or wealth is more important than my husband’s honour, dignity, and peace of mind. After all these years in power, I have never sought any personal gain for myself or my family,” she wrote.

Earlier on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah said his wife’s decision to return the land – which he has maintained was gifted to her by her brother and encroached by MUDA – was her own.

“When I have done no wrong, why should I resign? The land was de-notified by senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, not by me. My legal team will fight this,” he said.

The BJP, however, claimed the idea had come from the chief minister.

“I don’t think this is a decision by Siddaramaiah’s wife. It is a decision by him… this is like him admitting his mistake. But what has changed overnight?” asked BY Vijayendra, who is the Karnataka BJP chief and son of BS Yediyurappa.

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been accused in a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam. The case was filed after the Enforcement Directorate took note of a First Information Report filed by the Lokayukta. 

Besides Mr Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju — from whom Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi — and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police on September 27. 

The FIR was filed following the orders of a special court, after the Karnataka High Court upheld Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s clearance for an investigation against the Chief Minister.

The MUDA case involves allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to Mr Siddaramaiah’s wife by the authority. It has been alleged that compensatory sites allotted to Mr Siddaramaiah’s wife – located in an upmarket area in Mysuru – is far higher than the land acquired from her by MUDA.

Mr Siddaramaiah has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the allegations against him are politically motivated.

Mr Siddaramaiah is the latest Opposition Chief Minister to have been named as an accused in a corruption case. Earlier, the Central agencies had named and arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, who has since stepped down from the Delhi Chief Minister’s post. 

Mr Kejriwal got bail from the Supreme Court after being in Tihar Jail for nearly six months. Mr Soren got bail after five months. The Supreme Court had refused to entertain the Enforcement’s Directorate’s petition challenging the bail order from the High Court. 

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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