MUDA 'scam': HD Kumaraswamy accuses CM Siddaramaiah of 'misuse of power'
Bengaluru, Jul 13: Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of "misuse of power", as he hit out at the latter for playing the caste card, following allegations against him in connection with alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by MUDA, which involves plots given to his wife Parvathi.
Pointing out that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case directly involves the CM's family, he requested any respected lawyer in the state to take this case before the Governor and seek prosecution sanction, and to take it before court.
"Several scams of this state government, one after the other, have become a topic of discussion across the country....there is negative feeling about this administration in Karnataka outside the state, after Congress came to power in the state, and it is painful," the JD(S) leader said.
Hitting out at Siddaramaiah for playing the backward class community card, he asked, "what have you done for the backward classes to take protection in the name of the community?"
ALSO READ: MUDA 'scam': CM Siddaramaiah claims conspiracy as he belongs to backward class
"People have given you power, don't take a bad name and go at the last stage (of your political career), give a respectable administration. You are trying to take protection in the name of backward classes, but you are running an administration that would bring a bad name for the backward classes communities," he told Siddaramaiah.
Denying the allegations against him in connection with the MUDA scam, Siddaramaiah on Thursday had claimed that a conspiracy is being hatched against him out of heartburn as he belongs to the backward class community and has become the chief minister for a second time.
It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife 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.
The controversial scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.
Pointing out that following the allegations, the CM is now saying his family doesn't want alternative sites given to his wife in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land acquired by MUDA, and that they be paid Rs 62 crore as compensation as per rules, Kumaraswamy asked "whose land is it? Is it the ancestral property by CM or his brother-in-law?
"It doesn't actually belong to them, it is MUDA property, as Rs 3,24,000 was paid to the original owner and land was acquired by MUDA during final notification in 1997."
In 2004, Mallikarjuna Swamy (Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law) had reportedly purchased the 3.16 acres of land, and later did a gift deed of it to his sister Parvathi.
Further pointing out that Siddaramaiah did not mention this land in the 2013 assembly election affidavit, Kumaraswamy said, in 2014, the CM's family wrote to MUDA stating that their land has been acquired by it for making a layout, and sought alternative sites in lieu of 3.16 acre they have lost.
Noting that according to rules, if the land that has been acquired is between three to four acres, only two sites should be given in lieu of the land acquired, and that it has to be given in the same locality and not elsewhere, Kumaraswamy said, in violation of rules in 2022 Siddaramaiah's wife was given 14 alternative sites by MUDA in Mysuru's Vijayanagar area.
Regarding illegal money transfer scam involving Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Limited, Kumaraswamy asked Siddaramaiah, "whether the corporation officer Chandrasekharan's death (by suicide -- which brought out the scam) would be considered suicide or was it a murder by your government's system? If you had a strong grip on administration, he wouldn't have committed suicide?"
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Bill to set up single higher education regulator likely to be tabled in Parliament next week
New Delhi (PTI): A Bill which seeks to set up a single regulator for institutions of higher education is required to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing, officials said.
The Bill is likely to be introduced in Parliament next week after it got the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday.
The proposed legislation, which was earlier christened the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill, has now been named Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhikshan Bill.
A single higher education regulator, which was proposed in the new National Education Policy (NEP), looks to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
"The Bill proposes to set up a Higher Education Commission of India to facilitate universities and other higher educational institutes become independent and self-governing institutions and to promote excellence through a robust and transparent system of accreditation and autonomy. It is likely to be introduced (in Parliament) in the coming week," an official said.
While the UGC presently oversees non-technical higher education in the country, the AICTE oversees technical education, while the NCTE is the regulatory body for teachers' education.
The Commission is proposed to be set up as a single higher education regulator, but medical and law colleges will not be brought under its ambit.
It is proposed to have three major roles -- regulation, accreditation and setting professional standards, officials said.
Funding, which is seen as the fourth vertical, is not proposed to be under the regulator so far. The autonomy for funding is proposed to be with the administrative ministry, they said.
