BJP slams Congress government over suspension of ex-MUDA Commissioner
Bengaluru (PTI): The BJP in Karnataka on Tuesday slammed the Congress government over the suspension of former Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Commissioner G T Dinesh Kumar describing him a "sacrificial lamb".
An internal inquiry was conducted by the state government into the functioning of MUDA following reports of large scale irregularities. Kumar has been accused of taking several illegal measures while serving as the MUDA commissioner and, accordingly, he was suspended, a government order said.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on August 16 accorded sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a MUDA case under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife B M Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" 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 MUDA 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. Opposition and some activists have also claimed that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land.
The BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said the Siddaramaiah-led government has found a scapegoat in Dinesh Kumar.
“Not surprising to see @inckarnataka govt still being stubborn & protecting itself by making former MUDA commissioner, a sacrificial lamb,” Vijayendra said in a post on ‘X’.
Kumar is “just a small fish in this whole corruption scandal. There are bigger, corrupt sharks, who are deeply involved & only a thorough CBI Investigation can unravel the whole truth!”, he said.
He once again demanded that Siddaramaiah resign immediately as the Chief Minister to facilitate the investigation.
On the suspension of Kumar, the Chief Minister told reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday that it has been done by the Urban Development Department.
When asked as to why action has been taken against one officer, when two were facing allegations, Siddaramaiah said: "whoever has committed any wrong, action will be taken against them based on the report of the inquiry commission that has been appointed. Let's see what comes from the inquiry commission report."
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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.
