MUDA scam: CM’s family violated land acquisition rules, claims BJP state president

BENGALURU: State BJP president Vijayendra on Wednesday accused chief minister Siddaramaiah and his family of being involved in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam by allegedly acquiring land in violation of the Land Acquisition Rules, 1991 and omitting to declare land owned by his wife in the 2013 election affidavit.

“The sale deed executed in favour of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife clearly states that the alternative locations given to Parvathi Siddaramaiah were in return for the MUDA’s efforts to encourage people to give up their land for development as per the Land Acquisition Rules, 1991. However, as per the rules, the Chief Minister’s wife is entitled to only 4,800 sq ft of developed land (2 plots of 60×40 sq ft) for giving up 3 to 4 acres of undeveloped land to the Development Authority. In this case, she has been allotted 14 plots which is way beyond the permissible limits,” he said.

Trying to establish the origin of the property in question, Vijayendra revealed that the land was earmarked for acquisition in 1992 and later acquired by Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law in 2004.

“Even then, the RTC documents clearly showed that the land was earmarked for acquisition by the MUDA. He stubbornly showed that it was notified for acquisition in 2009-10 when 3 acres and 16 guntas of Kesare village were gifted to Paravathamma, the CM’s wife, by her elder brother. Nevertheless, the sale deed was executed,” he explained.

While producing the documents, he pointed out that the details of land owned by Siddaramaiah’s wife were also omitted in the CM’s election affidavit in 2013 when he first took over as CM.

“The omission of details of land held by the CM’s wife in the 2013 election affidavit is a gross violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) then in force. The BJP is seriously considering lodging a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) in this regard,” he said.

Vijayendra admonished Siddaramaiah, noting that this could be the first instance in the country where a prime minister has committed fraud during his tenure and is seeking compensation from his own government.

The state BJP president announced that the party will raise the issue both inside and outside Parliament during the upcoming session.

“We demand immediate resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, if he has any morals left, and hand over the case to the CBI for a thorough probe into the MUDA scam. There is no way another SIT appointed by the CM, comprising government officials, can conduct an impartial probe as it directly incriminates Siddaramaiah himself,” the Shikaripura MLA added.

Meanwhile, Vijayendra also criticised Urban Development Department minister and Siddaramaiah’s confidante Byrathi Suresh for making a hasty visit to Mysuru to meet MUDA officials immediately after the scam was exposed and transferring the officials allegedly to “protect” them.

“We have information to suggest that he personally retrieved all the files related to MUDA and brought them to his residence in Mysuru, thereby trying to cover up the entire scam,” he alleged.