BENGALURU: The allotment of a 5-acre civic amenities (CA) site at the Aerospace Park in Bengaluru to a trust, which has AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, his son and state minister Priyank Kharge and family as members, has given opposition parties another stick to beat the government with and the issue has reached Raj Bhavan.
This comes amid a controversy over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) allotting alternative sites to CM’s wife Parvathi, which has pushed Siddaramaiah into a tight spot.
BJP called the allotment of site to Kharges as another MUDA-like scam and asked Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to intervene. Council Opposition Leader Chalavadi Narayanaswamy urged the governor “to take cognisance of the seriousness of the matter and dismiss Priyank Kharge from the cabinet for snatching away yet another opportunity from deserving SC entrepreneurs”. He submitted a memorandum to the governor on Tuesday.
He said the Kharges-run Siddhartha Vihar Trust was allotted land under SC quota by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in the Aerospace Park, out of 45,94 acres meant for civic amenities in March 2024. “The question is how did Kharges become aerospace entrepreneurs? How did the department approve this allotment? Was the chief minister compelled by the minister to allot the land,” he asked.
He said it amounts to breach of oath taken by Priyank while assuming the minister’s office and asked whether it amounted to conflict of interest.
After BJP MP Lahar Singh raised the issue, Priyank stated that the site allotted is not meant for industrial or commercial, but educational, purposes. “The trust intends to set up a multi-skill development centre in the CA site. KIADB has not provided any subsidy to the trust or reduced the cost or provided any relaxation in payment terms,” he had said.
‘Is it a crime to be a Rajasthani?’
Hitting back at Priyank Kharge, Lahar Singh said, “Kharge Jr. and his gang have personally attacked me as Rajasthani for questioning the KIADB land allocation to the trust comprising Mallikarjun Kharge and his family members. Is it a crime to be a Rajasthani? I hope these fellows know Rajasthan is not in Pakistan.”
The BJP Rajya Sabha member said the governor will look into it. “I am glad that neither the Kharge family nor the minister have denied the land allocation but have defended it. People know how to judge this,” he added.