MUDA case: ED's statement issued at behest of BJP, says CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru, Jan 20 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said that the ED's statement on the MUDA site allotment case was politically motivated.
The chief minister, his wife Parvathi B M and her brother Mallakarjuna Swamy and others are accused in the case registered by the Lokayukta police on court directions.
The Enforcement Directorate on January 17 said it had attached 142 units of immovable assets worth about Rs 300 crore in a MUDA-linked money laundering case involving Siddaramaiah and others.
The ED is also probing the case based on a complaint by an activist Snehamayi Krishna.
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"I have no connection with the ED's press release. They (ED) are doing it intentionally and unnecessarily for political reasons," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
"The ED issued the release at the behest of the BJP. It is politically motivated," he added.
The ED attachment is part of a money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in land allotment by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The attached properties are registered in the name of various individuals who are working as real-estate businessmen and agents, the federal agency said in a statement.
"It is alleged that Siddaramaiah (a Congress leader) used his political influence to get compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife Smt. BM Parvathi in lieu of 3 acres 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA.
"The land was originally acquired by MUDA for Rs 3,24,700. The compensation in the form of 14 sites at posh locality is worth Rs 56 crore," the agency said.
The chief minister, who has been questioned by the Karnataka Lokayukta in this case, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing by him or his family, saying the opposition was "scared" of him and that these were politically motivated charges.
ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಪಕ್ಷವೇ ಇ.ಡಿ ಮೂಲಕ ಪತ್ರಿಕಾ ಪ್ರಕಟಣೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದೆ. ಇದು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಪ್ರೇರಿತ ನಡೆ. pic.twitter.com/anXklVVRkg
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) January 20, 2025
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BJP vows to return to power in 2028 in Karnataka, attacks Cong at executive committee meet
Bengaluru (PTI): BJP leaders on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress government in Karnataka and exuded confidence that the party would return to power in the 2028 Assembly elections.
The opposition party in Karnataka also passed four resolutions at its state executive committee meeting at the Palace Grounds here. It includes rampant corruption in the state, misuse of government funds, growing drug menace, agrarian problem and the garbage crisis in Bengaluru.
The party also hailed the Centre for introducing Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajivika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The executive committee welcomed the Centre's decision to give respect to 'Vande Mataram' song.
Addressing the meeting, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra alleged there was "zero development" in the state and claimed discontent within the ruling party.
"Let us work day and night to restore the BJP’s past glory in Karnataka," Vijayendra said, adding, "A situation has arisen where even MLAs of the ruling party may revolt against the government."
He alleged that law and order had completely deteriorated under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the state and referred to murders in Surathkal and Yellapur, claiming no compensation had been provided to the families of a Dalit woman in Yellapur and a Dalit man in Koppal.
He further alleged that Mysuru had become a narcotics hub and recalled the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl during Dasara in the Chief Minister’s home district.
Vijayendra urged party workers to gear up for a series of upcoming elections, including local body polls, GBA elections and Assembly bypolls, and called for grassroots mobilisation to highlight the failures of the Congress government.
Inaugurating the meeting, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, "This is not merely an organisational meeting but a meeting for introspection."
He described it as a gathering to strengthen the organisation and resolve to remove the corrupt government from power.
Expressing confidence about the party’s prospects, he said the BJP would form the government in Karnataka in 2028 with an overwhelming majority.
He criticised the Congress for the Emergency and alleged that the state had become "corrupt and financially bankrupt", referring to scandals, including MUDA. He also claimed there had been infighting over the Chief Minister’s post from the beginning and that public debt had risen sharply.
BJP National General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal said the party's victory in the 2028 Assembly elections was certain and objected to alleged attempts to curb RSS activities in the state.
He accused the government of favouring minorities over Scheduled Castes and termed it a "corrupt government".
Former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who was felicitated for completing 50 years in active politics, called upon party workers to resolve to bring the BJP back to power "on our own strength" and to "uproot the corrupt Congress government".
Former Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said it was Yediyurappa who had brought the BJP to power in Karnataka for the first time in South India and praised his role in strengthening the party.
Several senior leaders, including Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje and V Somanna, and other state leaders were present at the meeting.
