Bengaluru: BJP Rajya Sabha member Lehar Singh Siroya yesterday alleged that State Congress Government gave 19 acres of land in Kalaburagi district for free to International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy, run by the Siddartha Vihara Trust managed by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge’s family.

In an open letter, Siroya said  “In March 2014, the Siddaramaiah led Government gave 16 acres of Government land on lease for 30 years to the Institute. In a couple of years, an additional three acres were added to the 16 acre leased property. Finally, in Mar. 2017, all 19 acres were transferred for free to the Kharge family-run Institute by the then Siddaramaiah led Government. An important fact is that Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge was a Cabinet Minister then also like now, when the land was granted,” while demanding a probe by an independent agency.

Meanwhile, Radha Mohandas Agarwal, BJP General Secretary and In-charge of Party affairs in Karnataka, posted Siroya’s letter and demanded that  Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, answer these allegations.