Karnataka BJP chief alleges CM Siddaramaiah got clean chit in MUDA case 'deceitfully'

Chitradurga (Karnataka), Sep 5 (PTI) Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Friday alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah "knows he is an offender" in the MUDA site allotment case, claiming the clean chit given to him was obtained "deceitfully." The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday accepted the Justice P N Desai Commission report, which exonerated Siddaramaiah and his family in the case concerning alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The commission, headed by the former Karnataka High Court judge, had submitted its findings to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on July 31.

"I have seen reports about the CM being given a clean chit in the MUDA case. If Siddaramaiah had not done anything wrong, he wouldn’t have returned 14 sites to MUDA. People are saying he has taken a clean chit deceitfully," Vijayendra told reporters here.

Further, he said, "If Siddaramaiah were honest, he should have resigned by now. He is dreaming about breaking Devaraj Urs’s record as CM. Let anyone give him a clean chit in the MUDA case—his conscience knows the truth. He knows he is an offender." According to officials, the commission exonerated Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi B M, finding no illegality in the allotment of 14 plots to Parvathi in exchange for 3.16 acres of her land at Kesare village in Mysuru, which MUDA had used to form a residential layout.

The commission also examined allegations of irregularities in MUDA from 2006 to July 2024.

The case concerns 14 compensatory sites allegedly allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in the upmarket Vijayanagar Layout (3rd and 4th stages) of Mysuru, which were reportedly of higher value than her acquired land.

Under MUDA’s 50:50 ratio scheme, 50 per cent of developed land was allotted to landowners in lieu of the undeveloped land acquired for residential layouts. It was also alleged that Parvathi "did not hold legal title" over the 3.16 acres at survey number 464, Kasare village, Kasaba hobli, Mysuru taluk.

Earlier, the Lokayukta police had given a clean chit to Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, and two others, stating that the allegations "could not be proven due to a lack of evidence." The FIR registered by Lokayukta police names Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju—who sold land to Swamy, which was then gifted to Parvathi—and others in connection with the case. PTI KSU SSK ROH