MUDA ‘scam’: Siddaramaiah set to face Lokayukta police probe, says he has ‘no fear’

A day after the Karnataka High Court dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s order of sanction against his prosecution in the alleged MUDA “scam” case, more trouble mounted for the Karnataka chief minister.

A special court in Bengaluru on Wednesday (September 25) ordered a police probe by the Karnataka Lokyukta in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case. Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, has ordered the Lokayukta’s Mysuru district police to file an FIR based on a complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna and submit a report in three months.

HC disappointment for CM

The high court order on Tuesday came in response to a writ petition filed by Siddaramaiah seeking that the governor’s permission on August 16 to prosecute him, granted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of BNSS, be quashed.

The Karnataka HC dismissed the petition and said, “No fault can be found in the action of the governor exercising independent discretion to pass the impugned order”.

The high court also vacated its August 19 interim order directing the Special Court for People's Representatives to defer the decision on complaints against the chief minister, giving the green signal for ordering a probe.

MUDA scam

The alleged MUDA scam pertains to alleged illegal allotment of 14 housing plots by the authority to Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathi in Mysuru. The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.

It is alleged that the compensatory sites were allotted to Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by the MUDA. It is also alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over the 3.16 acres of land in Kasare village of Mysuru taluk, which was acquired.

No resignation, will fight legally: CM

The opposition BJP and JD(S) once again stepped up the ante and sought Siddaramaiah’s resignation after the back-to-back court orders. Holding posters, placards and raising slogans, members of BJP Yuva Morcha marched towards “Cauvery” on Wednesday, but the police thwarted their attempt, took them into preventive custody, and whisked them away in a bus.

Siddaramaiah has repeatedly rejected demands for his resignation and accused the BJP and JD(S) of hatching a conspiracy against him and the Congress government in the state. He has asserted that he would fight the case legally.

In an X post on Wednesday, he said he would provide a detailed response after reviewing the full copy of the order. “I am ready to face the investigation and continue the legal fight. As I said yesterday, I repeat today: there is no question of fearing an investigation; I am determined to face everything. After discussing with legal experts, I will decide the next course of action,” he wrote.

(With agency inputs)