Whitener ‘clouds’ letter’s content; Opposition hints at cover-up; Minister says typing error

Bengaluru: Amidst the controversy surrounding the grant of 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B.M. Parvathi in lieu of her 3.16-acre land at Kesare that was developed into a layout (Devanur) by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), a 2014 letter written by Parvathi to MUDA has surfaced.

A line in the letter has been erased using a whitener, fuelling speculations.

The Opposition was quick to latch on to the letter alleging that though Parvathi, in her letter, has sought layouts in particular layouts in exchange of her land in Kesare, the letter has been tampered with in a cover-up exercise by applying the whitener.

In this 2014 letter, Parvathi sought alternative land in lieu of her 3.16 acres on which MUDA had formed a layout. “So far, I have not received any compensation from MUDA. Therefore, in lieu of my 3.16 acres, I request the same extent of land (blanked out by whitener) in an equivalent layout formed by MUDA. Or else, my land should be returned,” the letter states.

JD(S) on ‘X’, accused Siddaramaiah of misusing his position to influence the allocation of prime plots in Mysuru. It alleged that Siddaramaiah’s claims of not applying for a plot in a desirable location are false, citing the letter as proof. The party demanded Siddaramaiah’s resignation, arguing his actions reflect a broader conspiracy to acquire valuable land through corruption.

Siddaramaiah has maintained that his wife did not seek alternative plots in any specific locality. “Our suspicion has grown stronger against Siddaramaiah who has been claiming that his wife didn’t seek plots in any specific layout. For us to get answers, Siddaramaiah must resign so that there’s an unbiased and transparent investigation,” Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka said.

Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh said no document was tampered with. “There must have been a typing mistake. She (Parvathi) must have committed an error, which was erased using a whitener,” he said, pointing out that erasure did not impact the contextual congruence of the sentence.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah has refuted the claims made by JD(S) and said that no document is edited with whitener. The CM also said that the land in question was allotted to his wife when the BJP was in power in the State.

“No document has been edited. I had given a letter to MUDA in 2014 and in 2021. The site allotted was based on a letter given in the year 2020. Maximum BJP and JD(S) leaders are in MUDA. Basavaraj Bommai was the Chief Minister when the site was allotted to my wife. Who is responsible for site allotment?” Siddaramaiah asked.