MUDA land scam: BJP-JD(S) leaders have no moral right to seek my resignation, says CM Siddaramaiah
Mysuru (Karnataka), Aug 9: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday slammed the opposition BJP-JD(S) for their "Mysuru Chalo" march over an alleged land scam, saying none of their leaders have a moral right to question him and asked people to drive the "Manuvadis" out.
A day prior to the culmination of the "Mysuru Chalo" campaign, the march from Bengaluru to Mysuru demanding the chief minister's resignation alleging that his wife had benefited from an alternative site scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Siddaramaiah hit out at the opposition in a major showdown in his hometown.
The opposition has alleged that Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi got alternative plots in the upmarket against the 'acquisition' of 3 acres 16 guntas of land in a remote part of the city.
Speaking at the mega "Janandolana" convention at Maharaja's College Grounds here to counter the opposition's allegations and their foot march, Siddaramaiah said, "August 9 happens to be the anniversary of the historic Quit India movement to drive out the British from India."
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"Today we have to drive out communal, casteist and feudal people. We have to oppose and condemn the Manuvadis, casteists and feudal lords who are unable to tolerate backward and exploited people. Hence, this event (Janandolana)."
He alleged former Congress CMs Devaraj Urs, S Bangarappa and M Veerapa Moily were forced to step down since they came from backward communities.
The chief minister also alleged that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy backtracked from their promise given to former CM N Dharam Singh to run a Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2006 and shook hands with "communal" BJP to throw him out of power.
The BJP and the JD(S) have no moral right to question him since their leaders were involved in scams, Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister sought to know what moral right, the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, his son and BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, besides Kumaraswamy, have to seek his resignation.
"If Yediyurappa has any shame, he should have retired from politics. He is 82 years old. He is an accused in a POCSO Act case in which charge sheet had been filed. He is asking me to resign by August 10. What moral right does he have? Did he do just one or two scams? He was caught in 18 to 20 scams," Siddaramaiah said.
Alleging that Vijayendra was also caught in several scams, the chief minister reminded that BJP’s Vijayapura MLA Yatnal had also said that Vijayendra had looted several thousands of crores of rupees.
"Kumaraswamy, what moral right do you have? Have you forgotten the Jantakal mining case? You gave renewal to 20 companies. You have any shame to seek my resignation?” Siddaramaiah asked.
He also hit out at Ashoka, saying that as the land grant committee chairperson, he gave away 2,200 acres of land in BM Kaval in Bengaluru.
"These people have to reply now. I never pursued the politics of hatred and vendetta. If I was like that then such a situation would not have arisen in the first place. They would have gone to jail," the chief minister charged.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Kumaraswamy, Yediyurappa, Vijayendra and Ashoka were involved in a conspiracy to remove him.
He termed the complainant of the MUDA scam, T J Abraham, as a person who has no credibility.
"Who is this Abraham? The SC has slapped a penalty of Rs 25 lakh (on him in the past). A charge sheet has been filed against him on a complaint by a KAS officer, Dr Sudha, that he was blackmailing her," the chief minister said.
The charge sheet was filed against Abraham on August 5, 10 days after the Governor issued a show-cause notice to Siddaramaiah asking him why permission should not be given to prosecute him in the MUDA scam.
The show of strength saw all the Congress top guns from Karnataka, including general secretary (Karnataka) in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, state Congress president and deputy CM D K Shivakumar, ministers and MLAs rallying behind Siddaramaiah.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
