Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday claimed that he believed his background from a backward class was the reason behind scrutiny in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority land issue.
"I am being targeted because of my backward class origin. The political vendetta against me, but I am ready to face it," Siddaramaiah said.
The MUDA controversy is based on transactions connected with 3.16 acres of land in the name of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, B.M. Parvathi, involving allegations of improper purchase, denotification, gifting, encroachment, site allotment.
The BJP has accused the government of incurring a potential loss of about Rs 4,000 crore due to its fraudulent allotments.
The timeline of MUDA controversy is:
The 3.16 acres of land in dispute originally belonged to the J. Devaraju family. Land acquisition by MUDA began allegedly in 1992, with de-notification coming through in 1998.
The land was sold pursuant to a deed dated 8 August, 2004, to one Mallikarjuna Swamy, the brother-in-law of Siddaramaiah and then Deputy Chief Minister in a CongressJD(S) coalition government.
It was converted for residential use by a conversion order on 15 July, 2005, at the request of Mallikarjuna Swamy.
Whereafter the brother executed a gift deed in favour of Parvathi on October 6, 2010, when Siddaramaiah was the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.
The land was developed by MUDA into residential layout called Devanur Badavane 3rd Stage with residential sites and infrastructure. In 2014, 19 sites were distributed.
A petition on alleged encroachment and compensation was submitted to MUDA by the Chief Minister's wife in 2014.
In 2020, MUDA is said to have passed a resolution on development guidelines with a 50:50 formula. That discussion has been formalized as a 'resolution.'
On January 5, 2022, 14 sites measuring 40x60 feet each were allotted in prime Vijayanagar.
It was in February 2023 that Mysuru Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra brought the matter to the notice of the Urban Development Department authorities over alleged disregard of rules in site allotments.
RTI activist Gangaraju exposed alleged illegal allotments to Chief Minister's family, sparking protests by Communist Party of India and other outfits.
A committee, headed by two IAS officers was set up on July 1, 2024, to probe the issue, by Karnataka.
The complaint in this regard, though lodged at Vijayanagar police station in Mysuru by a social activist Snehamayi Krishna on July 7, 2024, has been forwarded to the committee and not taken up as a criminal case.
On July 11, 2024, T.J. Abraham filed a complaint with the Election Commission accusing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of omitting information about his wife Parvathi's ownership of the 3.16 acres in his election affidavit. Estimated $440 billion worth of investments hanging by a thread, as BJP gets aggressive on Gehlot's audio tapes In a letter to the chief electoral officer, T. J. Abraham has… View Full Source Jun 11, 2021 Snehamayi Krishna alleged that original documents belonging to landowner Devaraju were forged.
The BJP demanded a CBI inquiry and insisted, citing the State President, B.Y. Vijayendra, that by law, the Chief Minister's wife was entitled to just two sites of 40x60, of which she was allotted 14 in a prime area.
Vijayaendra also raised a question about the legality of Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law purchasing land, citing flaws in land ownership andRTC.
RTI activist Gangaraju, who had brought the case to light, said Siddaramaiah had introduced 50:50 formula for layout development in 2014.
Siddaramaiah had said allotments were made during BJP's term, which BJP later branded as a "scam."
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asserted that his family never asked for prime location sites and would return them. "Instead, the government should return Rs 62 crore," he said.
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