Karnataka BJP leaders detained at protest seeking Siddaramaiah’s resignation over scams
BJP also demands CBI probe the scams in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation and the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
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Karnataka BJP leaders including Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka and state president B Y Vijayendra were detained by police on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)Karnataka BJP leaders including Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka and state president B Y Vijayendra were detained by police on Wednesday as they attempted to besiege Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s home demanding his resignation and CBI inquiries into two recent scams.
The Opposition party has demanded the CBI investigate the scams in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) and the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The first scam is related to the alleged misappropriation of funds, which led to the resignation of B Nagendra as scheduled tribes welfare minister.
The second scam took place in Siddaramaiah’s native Mysuru district, when MUDA allotted sites to people who gave up land for the development of layouts by the authority. While bogus beneficiaries also got sites, a few who lost land were given alternative sites in prime areas of Mysuru. Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvati is alleged to be one such beneficiary.
Speaking after the protest, Ashoka demanded Siddaramaiah’s resignation. “We will continue our demonstrations. In the next stage, we will protest inside the Houses of the state legislature until the cases are handed over to the CBI. The CM should resign,” he said.
More than 86,000 people have applied to MUDA for sites. “They did not get them. They are still waiting for sites. But the CM was allotted a site in a jiffy,” Ashoka said. “The BJP’s demand is to cancel the allocation of sites immediately.”
Vijayendra, also an MLA, said the Congress’s promise of corruption-free governance had been laid bare. “In the KMVSTDC scam, hundreds of crores of rupees were sent to other states to fund elections,” he alleged, adding that Nagendra was yet to be summoned for questioning even after resigning as a minister.
Vijayendra alleged the government was protecting MUDA officials by just transferring, not suspending, them. “They are trying to cover up corruption. We will protest across the state,” he added.
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