Siddaramaiah involved in MUDA, Valmiki Corporation 'scams', must resign: BJP's Shobha Karandlaje
New Delhi (PTI): Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje demanded on Tuesday Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's resignation, claiming that he was involved in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority and Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation scams.
At a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, Karandlaje said Siddaramaiah must immediately tender his resignation for a "fair and impartial" probe to take place in the matter as he also holds the state finance minister's portfolio and is trying to "cover-up" the financial irregularities that took place at his behest in the two corporations.
"He (Siddaramaiah) has taken money, not just from the Valmiki Development Corporation but from every corporation in the state. It should be probed. At the behest of Siddaramaiah, Rs 187 crore was illegally transferred from the Valmiki Development Corporation to Hyderabad. Money belonging to SCs, STs and the poor was used in funding the Telangana assembly elections," the BJP leader charged.
"He is also involved in the MUDA land scam. Siddaramaiah's wife was allotted plots under a 50:50 ratio scheme. And he is trying to hush up and cover up the scams. He must immediately resign so that a fair and impartial probe can take place," she alleged.
The Union minister also said that Karnataka has become "an ATM for the Congress and its high command".
Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Sub Plan funds are being diverted to fund the implementation of the guarantees that Congress gave the people of the state during the elections, she charged.
The BJP is up in arms against the ruling Congress in Karnataka, claiming that Siddaramaiah was involved in the two cases of financial irregularities in the state corporations.
The illegal money transfer issue involving the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd came to the fore after its accounts superintendent Chandrashekhar P died by suicide on May 26, leaving behind a note.
The note alleged an unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore from the corporation's bank account. It also claimed that Rs 88.62 crore of the total amount was moved to various accounts belonging to "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank among others.
Following the allegations against him in connection with the "scam", Scheduled Tribes Welfare Minister B Nagendra tendered his resignation on June 6. He is currently in Enforcement Directorate custody.
The MUDA case is linked to the fraudulent allotment of sites by the authority to land losers and involves plots given to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.
MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in place of 3.16 acres of her land where it 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.
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'Fraud on Constitution': SC rules against religious conversion for quota benefits
New Delhi (PTI): In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court has said religious conversions undertaken solely to avail reservation benefits without genuine belief amounted to a "fraud on the Constitution".
Justices Pankaj Mithal and R Mahadevan passed the verdict on November 26 in a case filed by one C Selvarani and upheld a Madras High Court decision of January 24 denying a scheduled caste certificate to a woman who converted to Christianity but later claimed to be a Hindu to secure employment benefits.
Justice Mahadevan, who wrote the 21-page verdict for the bench, further underscored that one converted to a different religion, when they were genuinely inspired by its principles, tenets and spiritual thoughts.
"However, if the purpose of conversion is largely to derive the benefits of reservation but not with any actual belief in the other religion, the same cannot be permitted, as the extension of benefits of reservation to people with such ulterior motives will only defeat the social ethos of the policy of reservation,” he noted.
The evidence presented before the bench was found to have clearly demonstrated that the appellant professed Christianity and actively practiced the faith by attending church regularly.
"Despite the same, she claims to be a Hindu and seeks for a SC community certificate for the purpose of employment," it noted.
"Such a dual claim made by her," said the bench "was untenable and she cannot continue to identify herself as a Hindu after baptism".
The top court, therefore, held the conferment of scheduled caste communal status to the woman, who was a Christian by faith, but claimed to be still embracing Hinduism only for the purpose of availing reservation in employment, "would go against the very object of reservation and would amount to fraud on the Constitution".
The top court underlined a religious conversion solely to access reservation benefits, without genuine belief in the adopted religion, undermined the fundamental social objectives of the quota policy and her actions were contrary to the spirit of reservation policies aimed at uplifting the marginalised communities.
Selvarani, born to a Hindu father and a Christian mother, was baptised as a Christian shortly after birth but later claimed to be a Hindu and sought an SC certificate to apply for an upper division clerk position in Puducherry in 2015.
While her father belonged to the Valluvan caste, categorised under scheduled castes, he had converted to Christianity, as confirmed by documentary evidence.
The verdict said the appellant continued to practice Christianity, as seen by the regular church attendance, making her claim of being a Hindu untenable.
The bench noted individuals converting to Christianity lose their caste identity and must provide compelling evidence of reconversion and acceptance by their original caste to claim SC benefits.
The judgement said there was no substantial evidence of the appellant's reconversion to Hinduism or acceptance by the Valluvan caste.
Her claims lacked public declarations, ceremonies, or credible documentation to substantiate her assertions, it pointed out.
"One converts to a different religion when genuinely inspired by its principles. Conversion purely for reservation benefits, devoid of belief, is impermissible," the bench held.
The apex court opined in any case, upon conversion to Christianity, one lost their caste and couldn't be identified by it.
"As the factum of reconversion is disputed, there must be more than a mere claim. The conversion had not happened by any ceremony or through 'Arya Samaj'. No public declaration was effected. There is nothing on record to show that she or her family has reconverted to Hinduism and on the contrary, there is a factual finding that the appellant still professes Christianity,” it noted.
The bench said there was evidence against the appellant, and therefore, her contention raised that the caste would be under eclipse upon conversion and resumption of the caste upon reconversion, was "unsustainable".
