High Court quashes ED summons to CM’s wife, Minister Byrathi Suresh in MUDA ‘scam’
Bengaluru: The investigation of the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam took a major turn on Friday as the Karnataka High Court quashed the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, who heard the case on Friday, also quashed the ED summons to Minister Byrathi Suresh, whom the ED wishes to question in relation to the case although the minister is not an accused.
Senior advocate Sandesh Chouta, who represented Parvathi in court, said that the ED was attempting to initiate parallel proceedings by probing into alleged irregularities in the case although the Lokayukta Police as well as a SIT had already conducted an investigation.
He was, however, countered by Additional Solicitor General Arvind Kamath, who represented the ED and said that the CM’s wife was the second accused in the illegal land allotment case and had been summoned as she had received proceeds of the crime.
The complainant has stated that the CM’s wife had been gifted a plot in Mysuru by her brother. The site had been acquired, but later denotified and bought by Parvathi’s brother. The MUDA had developed the plot although the land was owned by private individuals, due to which, Parvathi sought compensation from MUDA and had reportedly received land with far greater value than the plot of land that she lost.
Mysuru Lokayukta Police had already given a clean chit to CM Siddaramaiah, Parvathi and brother-in-law BM Mallikarjuna in the case.
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Bengaluru (PTI):Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday urged Congress legislators to maintain party discipline amid their visits to New Delhi to lobby for a cabinet reshuffle, cautioning against making public statements that could harm the party’s image.
Addressing reporters here, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president, said there was nothing wrong in MLAs meeting the party high command but stressed that the timing and manner of their demands were important.
“Yes, all of them have gone. The Chief Minister has said something, but all of them should maintain discipline. Everyone must maintain party discipline. They must respect the party. They should not sit before the media and damage the party’s name,” Shivakumar said.
He added that everyone’s future lies in the party, not in the media.
"In the media, you may say whatever you want in your own way. So I appeal to all my MLAs that meeting party high command is not wrong, but if unnecessary statements are made, we will have to act.”
Responding to a query on whether MLAs had consulted him before leaving for Delhi, Shivakumar said some had approached him and were told there was nothing wrong in aspiring for ministerial positions.
“Some of them came and spoke to me, they asked me. I told them there is nothing wrong in going and asking (for ministerial position); it is not that you should not become ministers, nor that first-timers should not become ministers. First-timers can become ministers, second-timers can also become ministers—it has happened before,” he said.
However, he emphasised that the present moment was not appropriate for such demands.
“So we said there is nothing wrong, but this is not the time.”
The Deputy Chief Minister also indicated that he is awaiting formal inputs before taking any action. “Officially, I have asked for a report with various sections. Let me get the report, then I will act on it,” he said.
The remarks come a day after several senior Congress MLAs travelled to New Delhi to seek a cabinet reshuffle and press for ministerial berths, while first-time legislators have also stepped up their demand for representation.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said there was nothing wrong in aspirant legislators visiting Delhi, adding that the decision on cabinet reshuffle rests with the party high command and may have been delayed due to elections in five states and the Budget session.
The developments assume significance amid ongoing discussions within the ruling Congress over a possible cabinet rejig as the government has crossed the halfway mark of its tenure.
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