Confident that Guv will reject petition seeking my prosecution: CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said he is confident the Governor will be "convinced", and will reject the petition seeking sanction for prosecution against him in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', as everything is legal and as per the Constitution.
Asserting that truth always triumphs, he said the opposition BJP and JD(S) are scared of him and his government as they are pro-people and poor, and hence are making efforts to destabilise it by making false allegations.
"When everything is legal, (the Governor) should be convinced... not hopeful, I'm confident that he will accept (the government's response) as things are legal. He (Governor) is the head of the Constitution, when things are in accordance with the Constitution, why won't he accept? I'm confident that he will accept," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
Asked if he suspected any political conspiracy as the Governor had met the Prime Minister and Home Minister in Delhi recently, he said, "I suppose nothing...."
"Since the Governor is the head of the Constitution, he will act according to the law," he added.
With the ball now in the Governor's court vis-a-vis the petition seeking sanction for Siddaramaiah's prosecution in connection with the MUDA site allotment 'scam', all eyes are on the Raj Bhavan, as to what decision Thaawarchand Gehlot takes.
Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the Governor had issued "showcause notice" on July 26 directing the Chief Minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days, as to why permission for prosecution should not be granted against him.
The Karnataka government on August 1 "strongly advised" the Governor to withdraw his "showcause notice" and alleged "gross misuse of the Constitutional Office'' of the Governor.
The council of Ministers had said a concerted effort was being made to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political considerations.
Asked whether the Governor has given another notice to him, the CM said, "only one notice had come, for which we have responded."
To another question whether the Governor had called the Chief Secretary and sought explanation from her, he said, "I don't know. I only know that after taking charge the new Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh had gone to meet the Governor on his return from Delhi."
The BJP and JD(S) are on a week-long 'Mysuru Chalo' padayatre foot march since Saturday against the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites by MUDA to those who lost land to other development projects, including to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.
Claiming that the opposition was targeting him to destabilise the government, Siddaramaiah said, "They (BJP) tried 'Operation Kamala" (earlier), but were not successful, so now both BJP and JD(S) have joined together and are trying to destabilise the government, because Siddaramaiah is working for the poor, we are implementing guarantee schemes."
He said, "the opposition are unable to digest this, as they are opposed to guarantee schemes, from the day one they -- including the Prime Minister -- are saying that it cannot be implemented, and even if implemented it will be stopped."
Questioning whether the opposition will be successful in their attempts to destabalise the government with false allegations, the Chief Minister in response to a question said, "truth always triumphs".
"In BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa's case (where prosecution sanction was granted in the past) money was taken through cheque, he (Yediyurappa) had denotified (land). What have I done? Are there any documents or orders or statements from me?" he asked.
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 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.
BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA "scam" is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
Noting that in 2014 itself, when he was the Chief Minister, his wife had given an application for alternative sites in lieu of her 3.16 acres of land acquired by MUDA, he said, "I had told MUDA until I'm CM don't give alternative sites."
"I could have given (sites) then itself, have I given? Didn't the CM have the powers? I could have given. In 2021 my wife again gave an application (to MUDA), the BJP government was in power then. How could I influence?" he said, adding that sites were given in accordance with law.
To a query that BJP-JD(S) 'padayatre' (foot march) has claimed that they will "overthrow the corrupt government," Siddaramaiah said, "Their governments were corrupt. I will tell (during August 9 rally in Mysuru) what all scams happened during their tenure, what stage the inquiry is. I will reveal everything."
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Karnataka Assembly passes bill on Palace Grounds amid opposition protest
Bengaluru, Mar 6 (PTI): The Karnataka Assembly on Thursday passed the Bangalore Palace (Utilisation and Regulation of Land) Bill, reaffirming state ownership over 472 acres and 16 guntas of land here, amid protests by the opposition BJP.
During the discussion, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would have to provide Rs 200 crore worth of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for each acre of land, which means that for 15 acres, Rs 3,000 crore worth of TDR would be issued.
“If we accept it, then this 2-km stretch of road will become the costliest road in the world. If we accept it then how are we going to develop the city in later stages? How will you carry out development works?” asked Patil.
He also pointed out that this question was raised not only under the Congress government but also during the previous BJP regime.
However, the BJP-led cabinet has opposed the project.
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“Suppose we agree to it then, what will be the valuation of the 472 acres? It will be lakhs and lakhs of crores of rupees. Can we accept?” Patil wondered.
The Minister said the government had previously exercised its executive powers to issue an ordinance, which was approved by the Governor. Now the government is bringing a bill with two amendments.
“In this bill, we have made provisions either to develop or drop the road development work,” Patil explained.
However, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and BJP MLA Arvind Bellad opposed the move, alleging that the government was targetting Yaduveer Krishna Datta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the scion of the Mysuru royal family, and the BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu constituency out of political vendetta.
“We talk of 472 acres of Mysuru Maharaja but here there are many Maharajas who too own 400 acres, 500 acres and thousands of acres of land, which is known to everyone,” Bellad said.
He slammed the Congress government, saying political power should not be misused for personal vendetta.
“Why (the then Deputy Chief Minister) Siddaramaiah brought the law in 1996 pertaining to the Bangalore Palace? Why are you setting eyes on the Bangalore Palace?” he asked.
Vijayendra charged that Wadiyar won the election on BJP ticket so the state government realised that it should acquire it.
“This bill has been brought for political vengeance. We are not discussing whether Rs 3,000 crore is exorbitant or not but the moment Yaduveer became MP, the state government woke up. You should be ashamed. This house should not be used for political vendetta,” he said.
Intervening, Minister Priyank Kharge said Vijayendra should not have raised it because the intention behind building the road was noble.
According to him, the BJP too had the same plan when it was in power.
He sought to know whether thousands of crores of rupees be spent on a road which should have cost significantly less.
In response, BJP MLA B A Basavaraj (Byrathi) said issuing TDR will not be a burden on the state government and appealed to the ruling Congress to reconsider its stance.
Minister Ramalinga Reddy too explained that the Karnataka government acquired the entire land way back in 1996.
The Mysuru royal family went to the High Court, which gave ruling in favour of the state government. The royal family then approached the Supreme Court, where the case is still going on, the Minister pointed out.
“The final judgment is pending in the SC to decide whether the acquisition was right or wrong. If the SC says it’s the royal family’s property then let it be so. If the order is in the state government’s favour then we can take a decision. The bill is only about it,” Reddy explained.
Speaker U T Khader then called for a voice vote and the bill was passed by the Assembly amidst opposition BJP’s discontent.
