K'taka cabinet accepts Desai panel report giving 'clean chit' to Siddaramaiah, family in MUDA case
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka cabinet on Thursday accepted Justice P N Desai Commission report giving a "clean chit" to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family in a case about alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The Commission, headed by the former judge of the Karnataka High Court had submitted its report to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on July 31.
"We (the government) had constituted Justice P N Desai's one man Commission, which has submitted its report in two volumes. The report makes it clear that there is no truth in allegations made against the chief minister and his family. It has also asked for action against certain officials on various accounts. We (the cabinet) have accepted the report and its recommendations," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.
Speaking to reporters about the cabinet decisions, he said a clean chit has been given to the CM and his family.
Though the contents of the report was not immediately shared, according to officials, the Commission has exonerated Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi B M, citing no illegality in the allotment of 14 plots (to Parvathi) in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land at the Kesare village in Mysuru, which was allegedly used up by MUDA to form a layout.
The Commission had also inquired into allegations of illegalities in the MUDA between 2006 and July 2024.
In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru (Vijayanagar Layout 3rd and 4th stages), which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it 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.
It was also alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over the 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
Lokayukta Police had earlier given a clean-chit to Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, and two other accused in connection with the case, stating that allegations against them have not been proven due to lack of evidence.
Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police.
Meanwhile, a report by Justice H N Nagamohan Das Commission, which inquired into alleged discrepancies in the works taken up by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) between 2019-20 and 2022-23, when BJP was in power, was placed before the cabinet.
The Commission headed by the former judge of the Karnataka High Court had submitted its report of 8,900 pages to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on August 30.
"The H N Nagamohan Das Commission report was placed before the cabinet, but because of paucity of time, we could not go into it. It will be discussed in the next cabinet," Patil said.
According to sources, the report has found certain irregularities and has recommended action against certain officials and contractors.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
