MUDA scam | Fighting corruption charges, Siddaramaiah pushed to a wall

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who played a key role in catapulting the Congress back to power in the state, is facing the most tumultuous period of his political career amid corruption charges against him and his family.

Never in his 40-long years in politics has the veteran socialist faced such embarrassment as he battles charges of serious irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment.

Besides being implicated in what has come to known as the MUDA scandal, his wife, son and other relatives have also been embroiled in it. Siddaramaiah denies the charges and says the Opposition – the BJP and its ally JD(S) – is indulging in drama.

The Opposition’s case

The Opposition says that the scandal has resulted in losses to the government worth Rs 5,000 crore. Mysuru Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra wrote 15 letters to the Urban Development Department urging the cancellation of the 50-50 ratio and calling for an inquiry against MUDA officials, but apparently no action was taken.

Legislative Council member H Vishwanath has accused Siddaramaiah and his son Yathindra of corruption.

The Chief Minister’s wife Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, landowner Devaraj and six others are also named in the charge over illegal allotment of plots.

The scam allegedly involves discrepancies in land allotment, with some beneficiaries receiving more than their due based on inflated "guidance" values.

Scrutiny is focused on 38,284 sq ft of prime land in Mysuru allotted to Parvathi.

Siddaramaiah defends himself

The MUDA scam charges have forced Siddaramaiah to defend himself multiple times in press conferences and other forums, where he has faced unprecedented embarrassment.

In 2016, Siddaramaiah was embroiled in controversy over wearing a Rs 70 lakh Hublot watch. The BJP cried corruption, but Siddaramaiah defended it as a gift from an NRI friend, Dr Girish Chandra Varma, and declared it a state asset. This incident raised questions about transparency and the ethics of personal gifts to public officials.

This time, the situation is far worse. Siddaramaiah is confronted by intense opposition from the BJP and JD(S), which are jointly amplifying the MUDA scam to challenge him and the Congress.

The BJP is demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation and organising protests seeking a CBI probe.

To defend himself and to mitigate the political damage, Siddaramaiah has taken a proactive approach by making counter-allegations against the BJP and JD(S) and releasing official documents to refute their claims.

Opposition hypocrisy, says CM

Siddaramaiah has accused the two parties of fabricating allegations and using incomplete or unofficial documents to create a political drama. Also, he has released all relevant documents and official records related to the MUDA case.

He has read out resolutions passed in the presence of BJP and JD(S) members, exposing what he described as the hypocrisy and lies of the opposition.

By making these documents accessible to the public, he has tried to display transparency and also counter the allegations.

Siddaramaiah also questioned the integrity of BJP and JD(S) leaders involved in MUDA, asking pointed questions about their roles and decisions.

He emphasised that neither he nor his family members had any illegal involvement in the land transactions and challenged the opposition to provide concrete evidence. "These are the allegations of the BJP and JD(S). I am also releasing documents to address them," he said.

Implicating Opposition leaders

Additionally, he has released documents showing that JD(S) and BJP leaders also received MUDA plots. He criticised these parties for staging a "joint drama" with partial documents and accused them of wasting legislative time with their protests.

According to document released by Siddaramaiah, key recipients of the MUDA plots include BJP and JD(S) leaders and their associates including GT Devegowda, H Vishwanath, S Mahesh, CN Manejgowda, UN Shekhar, Gangaraju, J Mahadev Swamy and J Shivkumar. He said the allocations occurred when the BJP ruled Karnataka.

A judicial inquiry commission, headed by a former High Court judge, has been formed to investigate the alleged MUDA scam. This comes in response to accusations that MUDA wrongly allotted plots, including to Parvathi, the wife of the chief minister.

Shivakumar defends CM

The BJP and JD(S) claim Siddaramaiah formed this panel to protect himself.

Siddaramaiah has unveiled a list of 21 scams from the BJP's tenure worth crores of rupees. He highlighted corruption in various departments. He has also vowed to investigate all these scandals.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has made several allegations against JD(S) leader and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy regarding the allotment of MUDA land to him and his aides. He has also threatened to involve BJP state president BY Vijayendra with documents related to money laundering.

Siddaramaiah claims the BJP and JD(S) are trying to tarnish his image because he is a backward class leader who has become the chief minister twice.

Citing historical parallel

Siddaramaiah has also compared himself with Bijjala, the Jain king from the Kalachuri dynasty who supported philosopher Basavanna. But Bijjala is said to have forced to order Basavanna to leave Basava Kalyana due to pressure from traditionalists. Bijjala was later murdered, and Basavanna's followers were falsely accused of the crime, it is said.

Siddaramaiah sees parallels between his situation and Bijjala's.

He has accused the the BJP and JD(S) of indulging in personal attacks without substance. He compared the BJP's tactics with those of Hitler and the Peshwa and said they were spreading lies to arrest their waning popularity.

CM defends ancestral gift

He noted that similar tactics were used against former chief ministers Devaraj Urs and Dharam Singh, who were also backward class leaders.

The Siddaramaiah government has also published newspaper advertisements defending the MUDA site allotment to his wife and detailing the plots allocated to BJP and JD(S) leaders.

The CM defended the land gift to his wife. “I come from a socialist background…Despite progressive views, rejecting a gift from one’s ancestral home is emotionally difficult. No law or cultural norm in Karnataka condemns it. Only the BJP, which often speaks of culture, considers it wrong, which is unfortunate."