Chief Minister-designate D.K. Shivakumar and outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah leaving after attending the Congress Legislature Party meeting at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Saturday (May 30).
| Photo Credit: SHAILENDRA BHOJAK

Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Friday (May 29, 2026) accepted the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who will now continue to be caretaker Chief Minister till his successor is appointed. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar will succeed Mr. Siddaramaiah. 

A communication from Lok Bhavan said that the resignation has been accepted and the Council of Ministers headed by Mr. Siddaramaiah has been dissolved.

Mr. Siddaramaiah tendered his one-line resignation to the special secretary of the Governor on Thursday (May 28, 2026), in the absence of Mr. Gehlot, who was away in Indore for personal reasons. 

Read more on Siddaramaiah’s resignation here

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar sharing a ug during the breakfast meeting in Bengaluru on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Siddaramanahundi village near Mysuru has fallen silent after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah quit the post.
| Photo Credit: special arrangement

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

The Lokayukta’s clean chit to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA land scam has triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP alleging that the state government handpicked the officers investigating the case and the Congress hitting back and saying that the issue was politically motivated.

The Lokayukta on Thursday submitted an 11,000-page closure report to the Special Court for MLAs and MPs in Bengaluru in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case against Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjunswamy and landowner J Devaraju. The allegation is that Siddaramaiah’s wife was allotted 14 sites in Vijayanagar Layout, an upmarket area 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.

Siddaramaiah has maintained that there was no wrongdoing in the transactions, asserting that the plots were gifted to his wife by her brother. 

Writing to one of the complainants, the Lokayukta had said on Wednesday that there was not enough evidence to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah and the charges seemed civil in nature and not “suitable for criminal charges”.

The BJP has said it has faith in the Lokayukta but insisted that the investigation was not conducted properly. 

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said, “We have full confidence in the Lokayukta, whereas the police officers who have investigated have been transferred, appointed, given postings by the same Siddaramaiah. We cannot expect a fair inquiry and this is an eyewash. If Siddaramaiah wants to come clean, he should hand over the case to the CBI, otherwise a high court-monitored investigation should be done.”

The Congress, however, hit out at the BJP and accused it of being okay with Lokayukta orders or rulings as long as they were in its favour.

“I had said in the beginning itself, when BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) did their padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru, that it (allegation) is politically motivated. His (Siddaramaiah) signature was not there, he had nothing to do with it. His family had lost the property and had asked for a claim, everyone does that whether it is me or you, and he was given (alternative sites). There was no demand for allotment in a specific place,” Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

“There should be evidence to file any case, but in this case there was no evidence. Lokayukta have done their duty, if they (complainants) have any objections, let them fight (legally)… Lokayukta is not just the police, it is an independent body, the Chief Minister has no control over it. If any official has to be appointed to the body, it is only after taking the approval of the Lokayukta,” he added. 
 

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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Karnataka’s new Ordinance and the state of microfinance sector

On February 12, 2025 after days of deliberations, the Karnataka government promulgated an Ordinance to crack the whip on unregistered and unlicensed microfinance institutions (MFI) and moneylending agencies in the State.
| Video Credit:
The Hindu

On February 12, 2025 after days of deliberations, the Karnataka government promulgated an Ordinance to crack the whip on unregistered and unlicensed microfinance institutions (MFI) and moneylending agencies in the State. The new legislation aims to protect economically vulnerable groups and individuals from exorbitant interest rates and coercive means of loan recovery.

Why did such an Ordinance become necessary? What are its key features? What are the concerns raised by microfinance institutions?

Read full story here.

Reporting: Nalme Nachiyar, Sharath Srivatsa

Video & Editing: Ravichandran N

Bengaluru:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that he is confident of getting justice by the judiciary in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.

Siddaramaiah is the accused number one and his wife BM Parvathi is named as the second accused in the case.

The Dharwad bench of Karnataka High Court has reserved the matter for judgment in the petition seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the MUDA case.

Answering a query on whether he has any concerns over the development, Siddaramaiah said, “Why should I be concerned? How will I know what will be the verdict by the judge? Why should I be worried? I have faith that I will get justice.”

Asked about the stay on the notice issued to his wife Parvathi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Chief Minister said, “The court has stayed the notice issued by the ED. The judge has questioned the ED on what is the hurry in this regard. The court had further observed that the investigation is ongoing and the matter is being reserved for judgment on whether to hand over the case to the CBI. The court had said that the hurry in this regard at this stage is inappropriate.”

Answering a query on whether the issue of notice by the ED is politically motivated, he said, “Is it not? The entire MUDA case itself is politically motivated.”

The Dharwad bench of Karnataka High Court, headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, on Monday stayed the summons issued by the ED to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi, and State Urban Development Minister, Byrathi Suresh, in connection with the MUDA land scam.

The bench questioned the urgency of the ED’s actions, asking, “What is the tearing hurry?” while passing the order.

Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, who has been named as the second accused in the case, was asked to appear before the ED on Tuesday (January 28).

Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close confidant of the Chief Minister, was scheduled to appear before ED officers on Monday.

Both Parvathi and Suresh had separately approached the court, seeking relief and requesting a stay on the ED summons.

The High Court granted a stay on the ED’s summons until February 10, pending the next hearing in the case.

The Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court, headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna, had reserved its judgment on Monday regarding the petition seeking an investigation by the CBI into the MUDA scam. This decision followed the conclusion of arguments and counterarguments in the case.

It has been alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to secure compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife in exchange for 3 acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by the MUDA.

The petitioner, Snehamayi Krishna, objected to the ongoing probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta and sought a CBI investigation into the scam.

While reserving the matter for judgment, the bench also directed the Karnataka Lokayukta to continue its investigation into the MUDA scam and to submit its further report on the day of the judgment.

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