Karnataka | BJP seeks Kharge’s resignation over ‘scam’ in land allocation

The BJP on Tuesday alleged a “scam” in the allocation of a piece of land to a trust run by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s family in Karnataka and demanded a CBI probe.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia demanded Kharge’s resignation as the Congress president and that of his son Priyank Kharge, a minister in the Karnataka government.

Bhatia also sought Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's resignation.

Charges of corruption

“There is a consistency in the Congress’ acts of corruption… It will not be wrong to say that the Congress has become synonymous with corruption,” he said.

“We saw the MUDA scam and Valmiki Development Corporation scam (in Karnataka). Now a case of allocation of five-acre land to a trust run by Kharge and his family in Karnataka has emerged,” he added.

The land has been allocated to the Kharge family-run trust by flouting rules, he said, claiming that Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife, his son-in-law Radhakrishna and sons Priyank Kharge and Rahul Kharge were in the trust.

Kharge family favoured?

“As per information with us, several companies and organisations had given application for the land but it was allocated to the Kharge family-run trust by flouting the rules,” Bhatia claimed.

“There should be an impartial probe into it by an independent agency CBI to ascertain the truth,” he said.

BJP leader Lahar Singh Siroya, a Rajya Sabha member, on Sunday questioned the alleged allocation of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) land to a trust run by Kharge's family.

Karnataka government denies

Karnataka large and medium industries minister MB Patil said on Monday that the educational trust run by Mallikarjun Kharge's son Rahul Kharge was allotted a civic amenity plot at Aerospace park at a prescribed price in accordance with the norms.

Patil insisted that no rules were violated in the process.