CM Siddaramaiah convenes CLP meeting in wake of Guv granting permission to prosecute him
Bengaluru (PTI): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened a Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting on August 22 in the wake of Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granting permission to prosecute him in the alleged site allotment scam in Mysuru Urban Development Authority.
According to a statement issued by the chief minister’s office, the meeting will be held in Vidhana Souda conference Hall.
Talking to reporters, Karnataka Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology, Priyank Kharge said, "Since there is a huge uproar about the governor’s role, we need to apprise our people. Ultimately they are public representatives; 136 MLAs need to know what is happening."
“The meeting is related to the MUDA developments. The chief minister will brief the Congress legislators about the facts of the case and will chalk out a strategy to fight the case legally and politically,” a source in the CM House told PTI.
Gehlot granted permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah, acting on the complaints of three private individuals.
In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.
MUDA had allotted 14 sites to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3 acres, 16 gunts of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from several persons for creating residential layouts.
BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA 'scam' is of a magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single-member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA 'scam'.
The chief minister denied has any wrongdoing in the alleged scam.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
