MUDA site issue: Governor Gehlot grants sanction for CM Siddaramaiah’s prosecution

BENGALURU: In trouble for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday granted sanction for the formers’ prosecution in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam.

The order issued by the Governor’s Secretariat on Saturday read, “As directed by the Hon’ble Governor, I am enclosing herewith the copy of the decision of the Competent Authority on the request of sanction for prosecution against the Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah, under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharathiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences mentioned in the petitions”.

The state BJP had recently taken out a padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru to highlight the alleged scam and with the governor now granting sanction for prosecution, the issue is expected to take a fresh political twist. The opposition is likely to vociferously raise the demand for the CM’s resignation. The sanction for prosecution also marks a big win for the BJP-JD(S) alliance.

The BJP had earlier demanded that the land given to the CM’s family should be returned. The opposition accused Siddaramaiah of usurping the lands that belonged to the Dalit community.

Soon after the governor granted sanction, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his official residence ‘Cauvery’ along with legal adviser Ponnanna, DG&IGP Alok Mohan, ADGP-Intelligence Sharat Chandra, and held discussions. Ministers Sharan Prakash Patil, Byrathi Suresh and Priyank Kharge were also present.

Challenging the move, the Karnataka government said they will move the High Court against the governor’s permission for prosecution.

The CM is expected to approach the courts to seek a stay on the FIR or seek anticipatory bail. He is also expected to brief the party high command about the developments and prepare the stage for a long-drawn political battle.

Earlier, a complaint was filed by social activist Snehamayi Krishna against CM Siddaramaiah and nine others for allegedly forging documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority. He has raised several questions in his complaint.

The complaint alleges wrongdoing by Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi B M, his brother-in-law Malikarjuna Swamy Devaraj, who claimed to be a landowner, and his family. It was further alleged that MUDA created fake documents and obtained plots worth crores of rupees.

In a interview with Public TV, Siddaramaiah had said, “I have the full support of my wife Parvathi B M. She will go with whatever decision I take”. During the recent ‘Janandolana’ rally in Mysuru too, the CM had claimed that there was no illegality in the allotment of MUDA sites in his wife’s name and said that his wife is never seen in public.

Earlier this month, refuting the allegations, CM Siddaramaiah said, “In the MUDA case, everything was done according to law. I have not exerted any kind of influence on the allotment of the plot. My wife has been given a replacement plot in 2021 during the BJP government as per the law”.

“In 2014, when I was the Chief Minister, my wife applied for a replacement site as MUDA had illegally acquired our land. At that time, I did not take any action in this regard. BJP and JDS parties are making allegations against me intending to destabilise the government. Although they tried to conduct Operation Kamala, they are doing this because they cannot destabilize the government. They cannot bear to see our government guarantee schemes successfully implemented in the last year and working for the poor”, he had said.

CM Siddaramaiah had also attacked former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his son B Y Vijayendra who is the state BJP President. “Yediyurappa, who is chargesheeted in such a case at the age of 82, has no morals to talk about me. He should retire from public life if he has morals. There are more than 20 cases against him, I am going to give detailed information about this”, Siddaramaiah had said.

He had said, “Yediyurappa had received bribe money through checks during his tenure. Denotification was done illegally. We have not committed any such irregularities. Opposition parties cannot make truth by telling lies continuously. We believe that truth is the ultimate victory”.

Earlier this month, Congress started the ‘Janandolana Yatra’ to counter the BJP padayatra highlighting the alleged MUDA “scam” involving Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B M Parvathi.