CM Siddaramaiah blames BJP for communal violence at Nagamangala
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday sought to blame the BJP for the recent communal violence at Nagamangala in Mandya district.
He also said that on getting to know about "police failure" in the September 11 Nagamangala incident, the Deputy Superintendent of Police has been suspended.
"Do you know how many Ganesh (pandals) were there? Out of 60,000 Ganeshas, incidents have happened in (only) two places -- Nagamangala and Davangere," he told reporters when asked about incidents of violence during Ganesh idol procession and immersions in the state.
"In Davangere, only stone pelting has happened; in Nagamangala shops and vehicles were torched," Siddaramaiah said.
"The BJP indulges in instigation, they are the reason for communal violence to happen, it is because of their instigation, such things happen," the Chief Minister said.
Siddaramaiah said he will check as to what caused the delay in Lokayukta's probe against former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy in connection with the alleged denotification of land in Bengaluru.
The ruling Congress in Karnataka had on Thursday asked the Lokayukta to expedite its probe against Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy in connection with the denotification of 1.11 acres of land at Gangenahalli in Kasaba hobli of Bengaluru North.
"I will check and react....yesterday (Ministers) Krishna Byre Gowda, Dinesh Gundu Rao and Santhosh Lad, along with other party (Congress) leaders held a joint press conference on it. It happened during Kumaraswamy and Yediyurappa's tenure. I need to get the file and check," Siddaramaiah said when asked about delay by Lokayukta in probing the denotification case against the former CMs, since 2021.
He said: "It is a case relating to the denotification of 1.11 acres of land, and the land is of a high value because it is in an important location. It is a valuable land, it has been denotified and later the land has gone to Kumaraswamy's brother-in-law, and his mother-in-law was the GPA ( general power of attorney) holder."
Despite officials insisting that it was not a fit case for denotification, it was done, he said: "It (denotification) was done in a dead person's name."
Responding to a question on Kumaraswamy, a Union Minister, repeatedly making allegations against him and his government, the CM said the JD(S) leader is always a "hit and run case, he never takes anything to a logical end."
"Being a Minister he has to speak responsibly. He is a Cabinet minister at the Centre. He has to speak after verifying what he is saying is true or false," Siddaramaiah said.
He said he will take a call on constituting a Special Investigation Team to probe into cases against BJP MLA Munirathna, after discussion with Home Minister G Parameshwara.
Siddaramaiah said Ministers and some MLAs of Congress party had met him demanding an SIT investigation.
"They had met me, I will discuss with Parameshwara and make a decision. They have submitted a memorandum....they have said that three cases have been registered against Munirathna and they should be handed over to probe by SIT, I have told them that I will discuss with the Home Minister and decide," he said.
The Chief Minister also announced that noted literary figure Hampa Nagarajaiah has been chosen to inaugurate the Mysuru Dasara festivities this year.
"District in-charge Minister and the administration will officially extend him an invitation. I was authorised to choose a personality to inaugurate the festivities, I have chosen Hampa Nagarajaiah," he said.
Dasara festival will be held from October three to 12.
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Kumaraswamy hits out at Cong over denotification charge, says he has no role
Mysuru (PTI): JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Friday hit out at the ruling Congress in Karnataka for leveling allegations against him in connection with a land denotification in Bengaluru, and claimed that he had no role in it.
He also claimed that the investigations into the case have found no illegality but, aimed at targeting him, the case has been "kept open."
The Congress on Thursday asked the Lokayukta to expedite its probe against former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Kumaraswamy in connection with the alleged denotification of land here.
Ministers Krishna Byre Gowda, Dinesh Gundu Rao and Santhosh Lad had held a joint press conference and released documents regarding the denotification of 1.11 acres of land at Gangenahalli in Kasaba hobli of Bengaluru North.
"....I'm not running away, I need not take protection under someone else's name, on issues concerning me... the only relationship with that property is, it is related to my wife's mother, I'm not denying it. Have I done the denotification?" Kumaraswamy told reporters.
Stating that he was under the impression that Krishna Byre Gowda was "intelligent as he has studied abroad," while he had studied at a school in Haradanahalli in Hassan, Kumaraswamy said in 2015 Siddaramaiah, "through" a person named Jaya Kumar Patil, had filed a case against him in this cases in which Yediyurappa is accused number 1 (A1) and he is accused number 2 (A2).
"For the last three months they have been struggling to do something (against me).....in 2015 this case was filed with Lokayukta. TIll 2018 Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister, what was he doing without getting investigated?" he said, adding that after he made allegations against the Siddaramaiah government in connection with CSR funds and transfer related issues, they started looking for "means to tackle him."
Alleging that a 'benami' named Rajashekharaiah, "who has nothing to do with the said land (that was notified)", gave a petition when Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister in 2007, seeking denotification of the land, which was acquired 30 years ago, Krishna Byre Gowda has alleged Kumaraswamy had then asked officials to move the file in this regard.
He has said, the original owner of the said land had 21 heirs, who gave a general power of attorney to Kumaraswamy’s mother-in-law.
Further pointing out that when Yediyurappa was the CM in 2010, despite the then principal secretary to the urban development department K Jothiramalingam noting on the file that it was not a fit case for denotification, the former ordered denotification, Gowda claimed. "Subsequently after the denotification of the land in June, 2010, it was registered in the name of Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law Channappa in July that year."
Citing the documents, Kumaraswamy asked, "what is there in it? Have I denotified (the land)? or have I prepared the grounds for denotification? What is my role in it?"
Accusing Krishna Byre Gowda of leveling allegations against him to "appease someone", he said: "no one can shake me...I will not discuss such things....get it investigated in whatever way you want."
Questioning as to what evidence was there to prove that he had asked officials to denotify, the former CM rubbished the allegation that Yediyurappa subsequently did the denotification to benefit him, and pointed out that "everyone knows that there was a fight between both of us then. Will Yediyurappa do something in favour of me?"
So far in his political life he has not sought favour or protection from anyone, he said, "I have said that if anyone one brings out even a single minor mistake of his while in power twice, he will not remain in politics for five seconds."
Accepting that the denotification had happened during Yediyurappa's tenure and that his in-laws brought the property, Kumaraswamy asked as to what was his role in it or was it done illegally?
Already inquiries have happened on all these and the investigators in their report had come to the conclusion that it was a legal transaction, he said. "But, to target me, the probe was not closed and was kept open. Their aim is to target Kumaraswamy, and they are looking for all possible things to target me."
