Bengaluru: A special court in Karnataka on Wednesday (September 25) has directed the Mysuru lokayukta police to investigate chief minister Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi, and others in connection with the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam and submit a report within three months.
The investigation order comes a day after the Karnataka high court dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging the governor’s approval for an investigation into the site allotment case.
Reacting to the special court for elected representatives’ directive today, Siddaramaiah wrote on X, “I am ready to face the investigation and continue the legal fight. As I said yesterday, I repeat today: there is no question of fearing an investigation; I am determined to face everything. After discussing with legal experts, I will decide the next course of action.”
It has come to my attention through the media that the Special Court for Elected Representatives has ordered an investigation by the Mysuru Lokayukta. I will provide a detailed response after reviewing the full copy of the order.
I am ready to face the investigation and continue…
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) September 25, 2024
The controversy revolves around the allocation of compensatory sites to Parvathi by MUDA in a prime locality in Mysuru. The sites were allocated under a 50:50 ratio scheme in exchange for 3.16 acres of land, which was supposedly developed into a residential layout.
However, allegations suggest that Parvathi did not hold legal title to the 3.16-acre land in question. Activist Snehamayi Krishna filed a private complaint, raising concerns about the legality of the site allotment process.
The investigation will examine the allegations of improper site allocation, undervalued land exchange, and questionable land ownership.
“The decision of the governor of alleged hot haste has not vitiated the order, the order is restrictive to approval under Section 17A of the Act and not an order granting sanction under 218 of BNSS,” the high court had mentioned in its order on Tuesday, as per Live Law.
Section 17A allows for inquiry or investigation into offences related to decisions made by public servants in their official capacity.
The development has sparked a political row in Karnataka, with Opposition parties demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation.
“Over the last year and a half that Siddaramaiah has been the chief minister there have been many many instances of public money being looted… Rahul Gandhi should do a press conference on the land scam and corruption scam that’s going on in his party… He should answer why does it happen that leaders of the Congress party loot the money and assets that is meant for the poor. When will they put a halt to this?” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a press conference on Tuesday.
Call the Press and clarify, @RahulGandhi…
Be it land scams or corruption, there isn’t a single Congress leader in Karnataka, be it @siddaramaiah, @kharge, or @DKShivakumar, who is immune to it.
I request the Constitution-waving Rahul Gandhi who is always lying about… pic.twitter.com/gg8z66XkrK
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) September 24, 2024
The Congress party has accused the governor of bias, claiming he has not acted on other pending cases.
“The court has explicitly dismissed the prosecution sanction under Section 218 of the BNSS Act. In due course, the investigation permitted under Section 17(A) will also be reveal your false allegations,” Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge said post the high court order on Tuesday.
Dear @BJP4Karnataka,
The honourable judge has confined the decision to Section 17(A) of the Governor’s order.
The complainant had sought investigation and prosecution under Sections 218 of the BNSS Act, 17(A) & 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, but the Governor had…
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) September 24, 2024
Similarly, deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar mentioned that the Congress party stands firmly behind the chief minister. “BJP [is] doing political conspiracy, we stand firm with our chief minister,” Shivakumar told NDTV in an interview.
