MUDA case: Lokayukta report manipulated for convenience of Siddaramaiah, says Kumaraswamy
Mysuru, Feb 24 (IANS) Reacting to the clean chit by the Karnataka Lokayukta to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy stated that Lokayukta report has been manipulated for convenience of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru, the Union Minister said, “Everyone knows what happened in the MUDA case. The documents tell the truth.”
He further took a jibe at the Lokayukta, stating that the institution itself needs divine protection after it submitted a ‘B Report’ (closure report) to the court regarding the first four accused in the MUDA scam case.
Siddaramaiah is the first, his wife B.M. Parvathi is the second, and his brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy is named as the third accused in the case.
“The Chief Minister has orchestrated the Lokayukta report to suit his convenience. This case cannot be brought to a logical conclusion because the government has interfered at every stage of the investigation. We are being harassed for raising this issue. For the first time in the state’s history, an IAS Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed to investigate our land. Five IAS officers have been appointed to the SIT,” he claimed.
“Forty years ago, when I was a film distributor in Mysuru, I worked hard to get that land. Now, they claim 14 acres have been encroached upon. I had written to them earlier, asking them to conduct a survey and reclaim the land if there was an encroachment. I even wrote a letter requesting an investigation. Yet, my request was ignored, and I have been harassed for four decades,” he said.
He added that the government itself claims that there are no original documents, adding that suddenly, new claimants have emerged.
“Who are they? Where did they come from? Who brought them? I have all the information. Let them conduct an international survey—I am not afraid. Is CM Siddaramaiah a modern-day Satya Harishchandra? What about the Hinakal Sakamma land dispute? What is CM Siddaramaiah’s connection to it?” he claimed.
Condemning the attack on Kannadigas in Belagavi, the Union Minister lashed out at the state government, asking, “Who is this government protecting?”
Responding to media questions on the caste census report, Kumaraswamy stated, “No one came to my house to conduct a caste census,” referring to a statement made by Channagiri Congress MLA.
“The caste census report has been kept under wraps for a long time. The government has the report but refuses to release it. Instead, it leaks selective details through the media. Are you worshipping the report?” he said.
–IANS
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