BENGALURU: Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge reacted to the FIR filed by Lokayukta Police against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment ‘scam’, and said that the “law will take its own course.”
Kharge slammed the Bhartiya Janata Party-led Centre for “targeting” Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case and said that the BJP’s main aim is to defame the Congress party.
“Law will take its own course…It is not necessary that the government should respond to it as it is an autonomous body, they can take action on whatever they have done is right or wrong. That is one thing. If Siddaramaiah has personally committed a crime, he is responsible, but he has not done anything like that,” the Congress President told ANI.
Kharge also said that there is no need for CM Siddaramaiah to resign from his post.”Their (BJP) main aim is to defame the Congress party, it is not fair, there is no question of him (Siddaramaiah) resigning from the post,” he said.
The Lokayukta Police filed an FIR on Friday against Siddaramaiah and others in connection with the alleged MUDA land allotment ‘scam’, officials said.
The FIR has been filed by the Mysuru Lokayukta under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 351, 420, 340, 09, and 120-B, among others, they said.
The FIR mentions CM Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law and others as accused in the case, they added.Earlier in the day, Snehamayi Krishna, one of the complainants in the MUDA scam, filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court, seeking the transfer of the case from the Lokayukta to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The matter is expected to be heard on September 30.
This comes after the Special Court in Bengaluru passed an order directing Karnataka Lokyukta to conduct an investigation against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the allegation of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites worth Rs 56 crore to his wife Parvathi by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
Karnataka Lokayukta’s Mysuru district police will have to conduct the investigation and will submit its report in three months. The Special Court’s order came after the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday vacated its interim stay order granted on August 19, directing the court to defer the decision on the complaints against Siddaramaiah.
CM Siddaramaiah earlier reiterated that he will not resign over the alleged MUDA land allotment scam. He said that the opposition is making the demand for his resignation in order to destabilise his government.
“I will not resign. HD Kumaraswamy is a minister; he is on bail after an FIR was lodged against him. He is a minister in the Narendra Modi government. It’s a politics by them to destabilise our government; that is why they are doing it,” Siddaramaiah told reporters here.It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife in the prime location of Mysuru city.
Earlier on Thursday, the Karnataka government withdrew open consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a probe in the state. (ANI)