MUDA scam: Siddaramaiah should face probe as a ‘’former CM’’, says BJP

It is not just MUDA but there are other urban development authorities as well and the BJP was seeking investigations into all of them, says Yaduveer

BJP leaders in Mysuru reiterated their call for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s resignation, claiming moral responsibility for the irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA)‘s allotment of sites to his wife.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, October 19, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Mysuru MP, and T.S. Srivatsa, Krishnaraja MLA, said that a district-level officer from Lokayukta police cannot be expected to summon the Chief Minister of the State, and hence, Mr. Siddaramaiah should resign and face the probe as a “former CM.”

Mr. Yaduveer said the party had taken the MUDA issue to the public under the State unit president B.Y. Vijayendra and the pressure was on the Chief Minister to resign.

Only an independent investigating agency which does not work under the purview of the State government and is not susceptible to being influenced or coming under pressure, should be vested with the task of investigating the case and hence the demand for a CBI probe, said Mr. Yaduveer.

He said the MUDA scam runs into over ₹5,000 crore and the probe should cover not only the 14 sites that were allotted to CM’s wife Parvathi (which has since been returned) but it should also include nearly 5,000 other sites that have been distributed to a handful of beneficiaries. It is not just MUDA but there are other urban development authorities as well and the BJP was seeking investigations into all of them, he added.

Mr. Srivatsa said that the Lokayukta was not investigating the case properly and its statements as cited in a section of the media does not inspire confidence in it to summon the Chief Minister.

Reacting to the Enforcement Directorate’s raid on the MUDA office scouring for documents, Mr. Srivatsa said original documents of many transactions are missing. ‘’Some of these original documents which should have been in the MUDA office, were displayed at a press conference in Bengaluru and hence the ED should raid the house of Minister for Urban Development Byrathi Suresh,’’ said Mr. Srivatsa.

Lokayukta cannot be expected to raid the Minister’s house and that is why the ED has stepped in but it should also focus on the role of Mr. Suresh, Mr. Srivatsa added.

The MLA said they are not focussed only on the 14 sites of Mr. Siddaramaiah. The transaction runs into thousands of crores of rupees and 4,839 sites were allotted in 37 months. Hence, it is also imperative to investigate all of them as also issue a directive to the sub-registrar not to register these sites in case there was a sale of property under scrutiny, he added.

Published - October 19, 2024 07:15 pm IST