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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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
