BENGALURU: A delegation of BJP and JDS legislators on Thursday met Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and petitioned him to direct Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to resign over the alleged scam in the allotment of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and the alleged multi-crore irregularity in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd.
Led by the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka, state BJP president BY Vijayendra, and JDSLP leader B Suresh Babu, the delegation urged the Governor to entrust the investigation into the alleged scams to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a thorough probe.
The Congress State Government has been meddling with the probe by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to safeguard the culprits in the alleged ST Corporation scam, the delegation informed the Governor. The case should be transferred to the CBI from the SIT with the government’s consent, they appealed. “The family of the sitting CM themselves became the beneficiaries of illegal land transactions and obtained unlawful gaining of developed sites by MUDA. The scam is worth around Rs 4,000-Rs 5000 crore and he, being the head of the State Government, may not allow a fair probe into this land scam,” the BJP-JDS delegation said.
“The CM was saying that the allotment of 14 sites to his wife happened during 2005-06, then why did he not declare this in his property declaration made in the 2013 election affidavit? If, according to him, there is no scam, then why has the CM asked for an inquiry by setting up a panel by a retired judge committee,” Ashoka questioned.
“These scams are not being allowed to be discussed in the House. It is clear that the Speaker is also leaning towards the Congress. The Opposition party has the power to ask questions. But it was cut short, and the Ruling party ran away, fearing to give the documents,” Ashoka added.
Ashoka alleged that Siddaramaiah has encroached on Dalit sites in MUDA and the ST Corporation scam is also related to Dalits. “Apart from this, Rs 25,000 crore has been transferred to other projects cheating the Dalits. The CM should resign, taking moral responsibility,” he added.