MUDA scam: Lokayukta police files FIR against Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru/Mysuru: The Lokayukta police registered an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others on Friday in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case, following a court order. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge supported Siddaramaiah, saying the party stands with him and will support him, as reported by PTI.

Siddaramaiah, currently visiting Mysuru for three days, said the opposition is targeting him because they are "scared" of him, and this is the first "political case" against him. He further added that he would not resign because he had done nothing wrong and would fight the case legally.
Siddaramaiah is listed as accused number one (A1) in the case. His wife B M Parvathi (A2), his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy (A3), and Devaraju (A4), from whom Swamy purchased land and later gifted it to Parvathi, are also named in the FIR. The Lokayukta police in Mysuru filed the FIR after a Special Court in Bengaluru ordered an investigation.

The Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, gave the order a day after the High Court upheld the Governor's decision to allow an investigation into allegations that MUDA allotted 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife illegally. The Special Court, which handles criminal cases against MPs and MLAs, directed the Mysuru Lokayukta police to investigate a complaint by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna.

The court instructed the police to investigate under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and file a report within three months. The FIR includes charges of criminal conspiracy, public servants disobeying the law, misappropriation of property, and cheating, among others, under the Indian Penal Code. Offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act were also mentioned.

Snehamayi Krishna criticised the delay in filing the FIR and said he plans to approach the High Court to request the case be handed over to the CBI. He expressed doubt that there would be a fair investigation against the Chief Minister.

Siddaramaiah received a warm welcome from party workers in Mysuru, while the opposition BJP protested, demanding his resignation. Many BJP workers were detained by police as they attempted to march toward the venue where Siddaramaiah was speaking. The Chief Minister questioned why he should resign when no wrongdoing had been proven. Congress President Kharge also dismissed the BJP’s demand for Siddaramaiah’s resignation, noting that no chargesheet has been filed, and he has not been convicted.

Kharge compared the situation to the Godhra incident, where Narendra Modi did not resign as Gujarat Chief Minister despite several cases against him and Amit Shah at the time. He said, "Let the law take its own course, and we will assess the situation if needed." Kharge also criticised the focus on the MUDA case, saying large amounts of money had been written off for industrialists, yet the BJP is focusing on a "small issue."

The MUDA case involves allegations that compensatory sites were given to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upscale area of Mysuru, where property values were higher than in the area where her land had been acquired by MUDA.