New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday welcomed Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot’s nod to prosecute Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam.
Addressing media at BJP National Headquarters, party National Spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Siddaramaiah of committing a Rs 4000 crore Mudra scam in the Mysore Urban Development Authority, and said that he was "following the footsteps of the Gandhi family."
Patra said that earlier, the Gandhi family had also committed a similar scam in the National Herald case, which was worth Rs 5000 crore, in which both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are out on bail, and now the Karnataka Chief Minister is following them.
"During the oath-taking ceremony and the Budget session in Parliament, the Opposition leaders made a ruckus, holding the Constitution in their hands. Since yesterday, many press conferences have been held regarding the West Bengal incident. We have seen how the Constitution is being shattered both in West Bengal and in Karnataka," the BJP Spokesperson stated.
He explained that civic society members had petitioned the Governor to grant permission to prosecute Siddaramaiah after the MUDA land scam surfaced. However, the state government's response was not satisfactory, and hence, the Governor decided to permit the prosecution.
Alleging that earlier, the Governor used to "suppress" such cases out of "political compulsion," the BJP Spokesperson thanked the Karnataka Governor for giving the nod to prosecute the Chief Minister.
"During Manmohan Singh's tenure, permission to prosecute in such cases was not given due to political compulsions, but in the case of MUDA land scam in Karnataka, the Governor has given permission to prosecute the accused," he said, comparing the situation to the UPA government's tenure.
Shedding light on the alleged scam and involvement of people close to the Chief Minister, Patra told scribes, "In 2004, Siddaramaiah's wife Parvati's brother purchased about 3.61 acres of land in Kesari village. In 2005, Parvati became the owner. It was later revealed that this land transfer deal was illegal because it involved land owned by a Dalit. However, it was also discovered that MUDA had already allocated 14 plots to Parvati in exchange for this land."
He also slammed the Congress party's swift response to the Governor's decision, particularly Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's arrival in Bengaluru, where protests against the Governor were held.
The BJP leader questioned whether Congress leaders would show the same urgency in addressing the issue in West Bengal.
"Today, I am wearing a black band, as I come from a doctor fraternity. So, I want to ask Mallikarjun Kharge to save the corrupt, you reached Bengaluru. Will you also go to West Bengal? Will Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi go to West Bengal, or will they all go to Bengaluru to save corrupt Siddaramaiah?" he questioned.