Lokayukta police quiz ex-MUDA Commissioner
Mysuru (PTI): The Lokayukta police probing the MUDA site allotment case on Thursday quizzed its former Commissioner P S Kantharaju, Lokayukta sources said.
Kantharaju was the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Commissioner for over two years, from September 2017 to November 2019.
Speaking to reporters after coming out from the Lokayukta police office here, the former MUDA Commissioner said he presented all the points pertaining to the issue to the Investigation Officer (IO).
"Back in 2017, it was decided in the Board meeting to return an equal amount of undeveloped land to the land loser. We presented the matter before the MUDA board meeting in December 2017. The issue was related to a consolidated decision of MUDA. The IO asked me about the decision taken on this issue, which I explained," Kantharaju said.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and others are accused in the case.
In the MUDA case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land, which had been allegedly being acquired ‘illegally’ by the MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
Karnataka Lokayukta police and the Directorate of Enforcement have launched an investigation into the 'scam'.
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BJP has history of ‘contradictory alliances’, says BK Hariprasad
Bengaluru: Congress MLC B. K. Hariprasad has launched a sharp attack on the BJP, accusing the party of hypocrisy over its criticism of alliance politics in Tamil Nadu.
In a post on X on Friday, Hariprasad said BJP leader B. L. Santhosh criticising the Congress party’s alliance politics in Tamil Nadu was “not just laughable, but the height of political contradiction.”
He said the Congress has always joined hands with like-minded parties to protect secular and democratic values in the country.
Hariprasad questioned the BJP over several of its past and present alliances across the country. Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura, Bihar and Maharashtra, he accused the BJP of sharing power with parties it had earlier criticised.
He alleged that the BJP had aligned with separatist and corruption-linked political forces in different states for political gains.
“The BJP, which speaks against alliances today, should first look at its own political history,” he said, adding that the party’s record was full of “contradictions and changing stands.”
Hariprasad also accused the BJP of using central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax Department and CBI as political tools to target opposition leaders, topple governments and influence electoral mandates.
He further claimed that the people of Tamil Nadu had strongly rejected the BJP and its ideology in the recent election.
“Congress forms alliances to protect the Constitution, secularism and national unity, while the BJP enters into alliances only for power,” he said.
