‘Process of land registration for Siddaramaiah’s wife took place at Jaladarshini Guest House in 2020’

Bengaluru: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy (HDK) has accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of direct involvement in the MUDA scam. Addressing the media yesterday, Kumaraswamy claimed that land gifted to Parvathi, Siddaramaiah’s wife, was denotified in 1998 when Siddaramaiah was the Deputy Chief Minister.

Kumaraswamy stated that Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot should permit the prosecution of Siddaramaiah in the scam, asserting that the truth will only unfold, and the guilty will be punished if the matter is heard in Court.

Process from 1992

“There have been similar cases reported in the State. Claiming ownership of the encroached MUDA land is an offence. The 3.16-acre land in question belonged to Ninga alias Javara. The land was acquired by MUDA, for which Rs. 3.26 lakh was paid to the landowner. The preliminary notification was issued in 1992, and the final notification was made in 1998. When Siddaramaiah was the Deputy Chief Minister, a khata was made in the name of one Devaraj, following which the land was denotified,” he added.

In 2004, one Mallikarjuna Swamy bought the land from Devaraj and applied for the then Deputy Commissioner seeking the conversion of the agricultural land for the formation of a residential layout. The land conversion was done without the DC or any officers visiting the site. Soon after the land conversion, Mallikarjuna Swamy transferred the land to his sister Parvathi in a gift deed, said Kumaraswamy.

Stating that the land had been registered as agricultural land, the Union Minister said that Siddaramaiah had not declared the land to the Election Commission in his affidavit filed in 2013.

“In 2014, Siddaramaiah’s family members wrote to MUDA demanding compensation, accusing it of encroaching on their land for layout formation. Following this, a series of meetings were held in MUDA, and the officials, under pressure, transferred the 14 plots, violating the laws, to Siddaramaiah’s family members in 2020. The registration process was done at Jaladarshini Guest House in the presence of the Sub-Registrar,” he added.

Citing a gross violation of the law, the Union Minister said that as per MUDA bylaws, alternative lands had to be allocated in the same layout where the land was acquired. However, the authority had allocated alternative 14 plots in a developed area.

Reiterating that Governor Gehlot should permit the prosecution of CM Siddaramaiah upon any legal expert applying, Kumaraswamy alleged that the said scam in MUDA had occurred when Siddaramaiah was in power.