‘As land was obtained without consent of all family members, they have a right to compensation’

Mysore/Mysuru: Former Minister N. Mahesh has stated that the land gifted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B.M. Parvathi by her brother Mallikarjunaswamy is an ancestral property and as such, Ninga, the original land-owner’s family has a right for compensation.

Speaking at a press conference at Pathrakarthara Bhavan yesterday, he said, “The CM’s family’s name has figured in the MUDA 50:50 plot scam. The 3.16 acres of land in survey number 464 at Kesare, which is in the name of the CM’s wife Parvathi now, was sold without the consent of other family members of Ninga, even though it is an ancestral property. Therefore, other family members should be compensated.”

“If an ancestral property is sold to a third party, the consent of all family members is mandatory. In this case, however, the consent of Ninga’s other family members has not been obtained and the family has every right to compensation,” he said.

There is a misconception that the land was granted to Dalits — ‘land grant’ — but the fact is that the land was purchased at an auction by Ninga in 1935. He had three sons: Mallaiah, Mylaraiah, and Devaraju. Devaraju sold the land to Mallikarjuna Swamy, the brother of the CM’s wife Parvathi, he said.

“ Since it is ancestral property, the signatures and consent of the remaining brothers or their children were required for the sale. However, this was not done. They somehow managed to clear the rights of others and sold the land. The gift of land by Siddaramaiah’s wife’s brother is invalid,” Mahesh noted.

“MUDA developed plots on that land in Kesare and following the 50:50 ratio scheme, it allotted 14 plots to CM’s wife Parvathi. After the scam came to light, the CM issued a statement saying he did not want the plots but instead demanded compensation as per the current land value, which is Rs. 62 crore. If the CM demands Rs. 62 crore, what about the rights of Ninga’s other family members,” the former Minister asked.

He insisted that the original landowners should also receive a share of the compensation. “There was confusion in the original sale itself, and we have gathered information after meeting with some members of the original family. They were unaware that the land had been sold. A petition has been submitted to the Deputy Commissioner by the family members, demanding justice,” he said.

Present at the press conference were President of State BJP OBC Morcha Raghu Kautilya, MLA T.S. Srivatsa, former MLA Balaraj, former Deputy Mayor Shailendra and former Corporator Ashwini Sharath.