BENGALURU: Firing another salvo at AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP MP Lahar Singh Siroya alleged that 19 acres of government land was given free to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy in Kalaburgi, run by the Kharge family’s Siddhartha Vihara Trust.
The fresh allegation invited a sharp reaction from IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge, who asked the BJP leader to do his “homework” instead of trying to please his political bosses.
Taking to X, the BJP MP stated, “In March 2014, the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government gave 16 acres of government land on lease for 30 years to the Pali Institute. In a couple of years, an additional 03 acres was added to the 16-acre leased property. Finally, in March 2017, all 19 acres were transferred free of cost to the Kharge family-run Institute by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. An important fact is Shri Kharge’s son, Shri Priyank Kharge, was a cabinet minister in the then Karnataka government like he is now when the land was granted (sic).”
It came to light recently that the Siddhartha Vihara Trust was granted a 5-acre civic amenities site at an aerospace park near Bengaluru, Siroya stated. He demanded that the transfer of 19 acres and the KIADB land grant of 5 acres should be probed by an independent agency. “Did the Siddaramaiah government come under pressure from Kharge to grant parcels of land to their private trust or was the Congress government in Karnataka trying to please Kharge,” he asked.
Rubbishing Singh’s allegations, Priyank said, “Looks like your political brokering job isn’t doing too well and you need to win favour of your bosses.”
In a detailed response to Siroya’s allegations, the Congress leader said the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy was established by the Department of Human Resources, Government of India, the Siddhartha Vihar Trust represented by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (now Central Sanskrit University), New Delhi, and the Department of Higher Education, Government of Karnataka.
The Pali institute was established on February 14, 2014, as a public trust with the deputy commissioner, Kalaburgi, representing the Karnataka government as the author of the trust. “Sixteen acres of land was given on lease for 30 years to the Pali institute by the government. The land is only on lease to the institute and no land was granted. The land and any construction on it is not owned by the Pali institute. The buildings were used by the government during the Covid pandemic and for other activities as and when required by the government,” he stated.
The main purpose of the Pali institute is primarily for postgraduate research to increase the intellectual focus on the ancient Pali language, he stated. “Next time @LaharSingh_MP avare spend some time doing some homework, instead of trying to please your political bosses,” he posted on X.
In response, the BJP MP said: “Thank you for your long cut-and-paste response to my short post. I have demanded a probe and I stand by it.”
