Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday made fresh charges against Chief Minister Siddharamaiah stating that he mislead courts to get 6 acre and 26 guntas of land in Bhoopsandra (RMV II Stage) in Bengaluru de-notified.

The CM intervened to override a Supreme Court order in de-notifying the land, alleged the BJP. At a press conference, party MLC B.J. Puttaswamy alleged that Siddharamaiah held benami property in the said parcel of land or made huge financial gains from the de-notification of it.

“A certain Keerthi Raj Shetty, a close associate of Siddharamaiah since his days in the JD(S) was the direct beneficiary of the de-notification. The de-notification had resulted in a loss of Rs. 300 crore to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA),” Puttaswamy claimed.

The 6 acres and 26 guntas of land was notified in 1982 to facilitate the creation of a residential area. It was subsequently de-notified in June 2016, in violation of a Supreme Court order which had upheld the 1982 notification, Puttaswamy said. “Though the land acquisition and notification process was over and people were allotted sites in the parcel of land, a de-notification process was set in motion again in 2013 through an appeal by an MLA, Vasanth Bangera,” Puttaswamy charged.

Narrating the background, Puttaswamy said the BDA acquired the said land in 1978. The land owner Syed Bashid approached the High Court of Karnataka and the Supreme Court against acquisition but failed to get orders in his favour. The BDA even allotted sites carved out of the said land to 42 people.

He charged that the government made one Jayalakshmi, another original land owner, file a writ petition in the High Court in 2016 against acquisition of land. This time, a single bench ordered for de-notification of six acres and 26 guntas.

“The Government deliberately did not produce documents and tell the truth before the High Court. This is nothing but misguiding the Judiciary. Siddharamaiah even misused his position as the CM and even directed the BDA to withdraw its appeal filed before a division bench challenging the single bench order,” Puttaswamy said.

“We will file a complaint with the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) against Siddharamaiah. Besides, the BJP is also exploring the possibility of filing a contempt petition in the court,” Puttaswamy said. “Resign if you (Siddharamaiah) have any decency,”  he told the CM.

Reacting to Puttaswamy, Siddharamaiah denied de-notifying any land. “When I have not done anything, where is the question of allegation? They are just trying to besmirch me as the elections are nearing. I will file a defamation case and I am consulting my lawyers about this,” he said.