MUDA scam: BJP-JD(S) leaders have no moral right to seek my resignation, says CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday slammed the opposition BJP-JD(S) for their ‘Mysuru Chalo’ march over an alleged land scam, saying none of their leaders have a moral right to question him. He asked the people to drive the ‘Manuvadis’ out.

A day ahead of the culmination of the Mysuru Chalo campaign Siddaramaiah hit out at the opposition in a major show of strength in his hometown. The march from Bengaluru to Mysuru has been organised demanding the chief minister’s resignation over the allegation that his wife Parvathi had benefitted from a scam in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The opposition has alleged that Siddaramaiah’s wife got alternative plots in an upmarket area against the “acquisition” of 3.40 acre of land in a remote part of the city.

Speaking at the mega ‘Janandolana’ convention at Maharaja’s College Grounds here to counter the opposition’s allegations and their foot march, Siddaramaiah said, “August 9 happens to be the anniversary of the historic Quit India movement to drive out the British from India.” “Today we have to drive out communal, casteist and feudal people. We have to oppose and condemn the Manuvadis, casteists and feudal lords who are unable to tolerate backward and exploited people. Hence, this event (Janandolana).” He alleged that former Congress CMs Devaraj Urs, S Bangarappa and M Veerapa Moily were forced to step down since they came from backward communities.

The chief minister also alleged that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy had backtracked from their promise given to former CM N Dharam Singh to run a Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2006 and that they shook hands with the “communal” BJP to throw him out of power.

He said the BJP and the JD(S) have no moral right to question him as their leaders have been involved in scams, Siddaramaiah said.

The chief minister sought to know what moral right the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, his son and BJP state president B Y Vijayendra and Kumaraswamy had to seek his resignation.

“If Yediyurappa has any shame, he should have retired from politics. He is 82 years old. He is an accused in a POCSO Act case in which charge sheet had been filed. He is asking me to resign by August 10. What moral right does he have? Did he do just one or two scams? He was caught in 18 to 20 scams,” Siddaramaiah said.

Alleging that Vijayendra was also caught in several scams, the chief minister reminded that BJP’s Vijayapura MLA Yatnal had also said that Vijayendra had looted several thousands of crores of rupees.

“Kumaraswamy, what moral right do you have? Have you forgotten the Jantakal mining case? You gave renewal to 20 companies. You have any shame to seek my resignation?” Siddaramaiah asked.

He also hit out at Ashoka, saying that as the land grant committee chairperson, he gave away 2,200 acres of land in BM Kaval in Bengaluru.

“These people have to reply now. I never pursued the politics of hatred and vendetta. If I was like that then such a situation would not have arisen in the first place. They would have gone to jail,” the chief minister charged.

Siddaramaiah alleged that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Kumaraswamy, Yediyurappa, Vijayendra and Ashoka were involved in a conspiracy to remove him from the chief minister’s post.

He termed the complainant of the MUDA scam, T J Abraham, as a person who has no credibility.

“Who is this Abraham? The SC has slapped a penalty of Rs 25 lakh (on him in the past). A charge sheet has been filed against him on a complaint by a KAS officer Dr Sudha, that he was blackmailing her,” the chief minister said.

The charge sheet was filed against Abraham on August 5, 10 days after the Governor issued a show-cause notice to Siddaramaiah asking him why permission should not be given to prosecute him in the MUDA scam.

The show of strength by the Congress in support of Siddaramaiah involved all the top guns from the party in Karnataka, including General Secretary (Karnataka) in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, ministers and MLAs rallying behind the CM.

Speaking on the occasion, Shivakumar said the opposition was dreaming of removing the CM in Karnataka in 10 days, “but which is not possible for them in the next ten years”.

“Kumaraswamy claims himself to be ‘Clean Swamy’ but officials have told me that he has 50 cases of denotification of land against him. I will expose his corruption. Lokayukta has written to the Governor regarding this. Hence Kumaraswamy has taken refuge in the BJP,” the DCM said.

Lashing out at Vijayendra, Shivakumar asked him to tell the people why his father Yediyurappa resigned as chief minister twice.

“When you come to Mysuru, you tell the people why you transferred money from Lakshmi Vilas bank to Dubai. Time will decide who has to resign,” the DCM said.

The BJP has tried to destabilise many governments in the past through Operation Lotus but the party should know that the British could not destabilise the Congress for 200 years; how can the BJP dethrone it now, he quipped.