BJP''s charges against CM are part of conspiracy against Cong govt., says Deputy CM Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday charged the BJP with levelling allegations against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment "scam" as part of its "conspiracy" against the Congress government.
“Karnataka is the biggest state for the Congress party. The BJP had never thought that the Congress would win here. So they are hatching a conspiracy against the government," Shivakumar, also the State Congress chief, told reporters here.
The BJP, along with its NDA ally the JD(S), has proposed to take out next week a "Padayatra" (foot march) from here to Mysuru, to press for the resignation of the Chief Minister over the alleged scam.
"Let them do whatever they want, let them take out as many marches as possible. We will also plan how to counter their campaign,” Shivakumar said.
The opposition BJP and JD(S) have alleged that the MUDA allotted to Chief Minister's wife Parvathi 14 sites whose value was much higher than 3.16 acres of her land which was "acquired" by it to form a residential layout.
Denying any wrongdoing, Siddaramaiah had said these sites were allotted in 2021 when the BJP was in power, adding, his wife had never demanded plots in any particular area.
The Chief Minister had maintained that the MUDA had encroached on his wife’s property. When he brought the matter to the notice of MUDA officials, they allotted alternative sites in lieu of the illegal acquisition of their land.
Shivakumar maintained that Siddaramaiah had not asked for sites in specific areas.
“Several people (land losers) have got alternative sites. I will not dwell into the way others obtained the alternative sites. Minister concerned will explain it and I am also gathering information. When the Chief Minister raised it, MUDA offered him alternative land. Whatever happened was within the framework of law,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.
According to him, the MUDA site allotment issue had appeared in the media three years ago but it has been raked up now only to tarnish the image of the Chief Minister.
Shivakumar alleged that the BJP was "copying the Congress concept of 'Padayatra’." “We have a patent over Padayatra. It was started by Mahatma Gandhi. We carried out ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ (Unite India March). Now the BJP wants to make use of it,” he said.
“The BJP is ‘Sardar (head) of corruption’. They want to expose the scam. Let them do it. We will also lay bare the entire scam,” he said.
Shivakumar said the BJP raising the pitch on the MUDA issue was a ‘publicity stunt’.
He added that the BJP will "fall into the pit it has dug for others" by taking out the march.
He claimed that the MUDA scam had taken place during the previous BJP government. “Now the BJP leaders have decided to take out a march. We also will expose their scam explaining who got how many sites."
BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA "scam" is of the magnitude of Rs 4000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Ramdas Athawale backs Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM; says Shinde can shift to Centre
New Delhi, Nov 26: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale, a key BJP ally, on Tuesday called for a quick decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and suggested that incumbent Eknath Shinde should shift to the Centre as a Union minister.
Addressing a press conference here, Athawale also backed senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, contending that the saffron party won the maximum number of seats in the 288-member Assembly and should have the right to the top executive post in the state.
He said a peculiar situation has arisen in Maharashtra where BJP leaders want Fadnavis as the chief minister, while Shiv Sena leaders want Shinde to continue in the post, citing the good work he has done over the last two and a half years.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared that he was not in the race for the chief minister.
"We need to resolve this matter, without any further delay. The election results were announced on November 23 and we should have had the oath of the new chief minister on November 26, the Constitution Day," Athawale said.
Backing Fadnavis for the post of chief minister, Athawale said Shinde can become the deputy chief minister or shift to the Centre and join the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his RPI(A) has a presence in every part of the state, but unfortunately lost the two seats -- Dharavi and Kalina -- offered to it in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He demanded that an RPI member be made an MLC and a minister in the state government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP won 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP (41). Smaller parties, who are part of the alliance, won five seats.
