How can those under the CM deliver a report against him, questions H.D. Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: The Opposition BJP has dismissed the Lokayukta’s clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi, and two others in the alleged MUDA scam as “expected” and “biased.”

Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, R. Ashoka claimed that Lokayukta officials would now submit a report to the Court blaming the scam solely on MUDA officials. Mocking the report, he remarked that instead of a clean chit, it was akin to being “washed with Nirma  washing powder.”

“The Court isn’t bound to accept this report. If it is rejected, the investigation will be reopened. We trust the judiciary,” Ashoka said, adding that Congress leaders who had ambitions of becoming CM would now lose sleep.

Questioning Siddaramaiah’s role in the case, he asked, “If he wasn’t involved, why did he surrender the sites? The Lokayukta cleared him due to ‘insufficient evidence.’ Did the land convert itself automatically?

The report is likely to blame MUDA officials, but specific officials were strategically placed in the Lokayukta before the case was filed. This is a pre-planned report,” Ashoka alleged, insisting that only a CBI probe would reveal the truth.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, also demanded a CBI probe to uncover the truth about MUDA irregularities. “Our fight against the MUDA scam will continue, and we are considering legal action,” he said.

He pointed out that Siddaramaiah had hired the country’s top lawyers for his defence. “They spent money equivalent to the value of the 14 sites on legal fees,” he alleged.

HDK calls probe a sham

Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said that he had predicted the clean chit, questioning the credibility of the probe. “Can the Lokayukta’s investigation even be called a probe? The investigating officer needs approval from his superiors before submitting a report. How can those under the CM deliver a report against him?” he asked.

Kumaraswamy questioned how an investigation could be reviewed by higher-ups before being officially filed and argued that officers working under the CM would unlikely file a report against him.

He claimed that records implicating Siddaramaiah were evident and accused the Lokayukta of conducting a biased investigation, indirectly suggesting that the clean chit given to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah   was influenced.