Siddaramaiah charges CM Bommai of presenting wrong info to hide BJP's corruption
Bengaluru, Feb 24: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday accused Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai of using the Justice H S Kempanna Commission's report to give wrong information in the Assembly regarding the Arkavathy Layout denotification.
The Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly said the Chief Minister was acting with an intention to "hide" the corruption charges against the BJP government.
He was reacting to Bommai, who on Thursday in the Assembly, reading out the excerpts from the Justice Kempanna Commission's report which is not in public, had accused the previous Congress government of "redo" or denotifiation of Arkavathy Layout land.
"When I was not present in the Assembly, Bommai shouted and created an impression that there was a big scam worth Rs 8,000 crore. The Kempanna Commission has said that I did not denotify even one gunta of land. Bommai is speaking plain lies," Siddaramaiah told reporters here. One gunta is equal to 1,089 square feet.
He noted that Arkavathy Layout was formed in 2003, and before his government came to power, 2,750 acres were notified.
"Later, final notification was done for 1,919.13 acres. This was challenged in High Court and went to the Supreme Court, which fixed some parameters and teams were formed to delete some lands when B S Yediyurappa was the chief minister," Siddaramaiah added.
The file next went to Jagadish Shettar who subsequently became the Chief Minister, but by then the model code of conduct for the election was in place, so it was sent back, he said.
"When our (Congress) government came, there was a petition in the High Court because of which there was some pressure."
"As our officers had stated that everything was done as per the Supreme Court's parameters. I approved it. It was not a redo, but a remodified scheme," Siddaramaiah further said.
Subsequently as Shettar, who was then Leader of Opposition, and others alleged that there was a scam, he had formed a judicial commission for an inquiry, the Congress leader contended.
Pointing out that in September 2021, the HC constituted another committee under retired Justice K N Keshavanarayana, Siddaramaiah said: "Hearing a PIL that sought for tabling of the Justice Kempanna Commission's report, the High Court had said it can't be considered in view of the Keshavanarayana committee that's functioning. Hence, it was wrong to speak on a report that was not tabled."
With the ruling BJP accusing him of weakening the Lokayukta by forming the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Siddaramaiah also sought to defend his government's decision to constitute the new state agency.
"Gujarat, Goa, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and 12 other states have Lokayukta and ACB. Why isn't the BJP abolishing ACB in these states?" he asked.
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Bengaluru woman murder: Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara vows to nab culprits soon
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday vowed to apprehend those responsible for the gruesome murder of a 29-year-old woman here, as soon as possible.
Mahalakshmi's body was found chopped into over 50 pieces and stuffed into a refrigerator in her flat at Vyalikaval in the city.
Addressing reporters, Parameshwara said, "Aready some information has been collected, which I cannot reveal now, but we will soon nab those involved in it."
"... an individual -- they say is the one (involved), but unless we have more information, we can't really confirm. He is from West Bengal, they say. As early as possible we will secure (those involved)."
The maggot-infested body of Mahalakshmi was discovered by her mother and elder sister at her home on Saturday.
Responding to a question about reports that one person was already taken into custody in connection with the case, the Home Minister said, "police bring in suspects and inquire them. If somebody confesses (to the crime), then they will be taken into custody."
The deceased woman's estranged husband has expressed suspicion about a man known to her.
To another query on women's safety, the Minister said already a lot of precautions and measures are being taken for the safety of women in Bengaluru.
"In fact the Nirbhaya programme is implemented, and we are doing several things... definitely we are very careful about it and we take a lot of precautions. We have installed CCTVs at the place where a lot of women visit.
We have taken steps, but still we don't know how to term these (incidents), whether we call it domestic or whether we call it something else. We have already alerted all the police stations to be extra careful about women safety....we need to put more effort on this, and we will do it," he said.
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the suspect has been identified and he is an outsider.
“So far as Vyalikaval case (Mahalakshmi murder case) is concerned, we are investigating from all the angles. The prime suspect who is likely to have committed this ghastly offence is identified. The only thing is we are yet to apprehend him. As and when the person is caught and the interrogation is done, then we will be able to provide further details,” Dayananda told media here.
According to police sources, several investigation teams have been formed to trace the culprits. Some teams have fanned out to various parts of India to arrest those involved in the crime.
The victim’s family demanded justice for her.
“The owner of the building informed me that there was foul smell coming from the house. When I came and opened the door I saw the body of Mahalakshmi cut into pieces. I saw her for the last time on Rakshabandhana festival. Since then her phone was switched off,” Mahalakshmi's mother Meena Rana told reporters.
Seeking punishment for the accused, the victim's elder sister said, “Who cuts a woman into pieces like this? I saw her a year ago. Now I saw her in pieces.”
