Siddaramaiah should resign owing moral responsibility to MUDA scam: Kota Srinivas Poojary

Stating that it was the BJP government that appointed a technical committee to probe Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) irregularities on July 2, 2022, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Member of Parliament Kota Srinivas Poojary on Friday demanded resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on moral grounds.

Stating that it was the BJP government that appointed a technical committee to probe Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) irregularities on July 2, 2022, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Member of Parliament Kota Srinivas Poojary on Friday demanded resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on moral grounds.

Speaking to reporters in Udupi, Mr. Poojary challenged Mr. Siddaramaiah’s defence that his wife got alternative sites in lieu of her lands acquired by MUDA. He pointed out that alternative sites allotment was restricted only to Arkavathi Layout as per the Supreme Court order. The SC had initially provided for 60:40 sharing between the BDA and the landowner and later made it to 50:50. At no point this ruling could be extended to other urban development authority; but Mr. Siddaramaiah made it possible, he said.

Even the alternative site allotment rule, exclusively for Arkavathi Layout, came in 2009 while Ms. Parvathi Siddaramaiah’s land was acquired way back in 1990’s. There also, Mr. Siddaramaiah played the game, Mr Poojary said. The Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act, 1961, did not provide for allotment of stray sites as alternative sites, the MP further said. Alternative sites, if permissible for allotment, had to be provided in the same layout and not in an upmarket area like Vijayanagar where Ms. Siddaramaiah got the sites, Mr. Poojary explained.

The BJP government, Mr. Poojary said, had formed the technical committee headed by Urban Development Department Town Planning Additional Director T.V. Murali in July 2022. While the Committee submitted the preliminary report in three volumes to the government in November 2023 itself, the Siddaramaiah government did not act upon it.

While Ms. Siddaramaiah bought the land in 2006-07, Mr. Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister in 2017 directed MUDA to allot alternative sites, Mr. Poojary alleged. The allotments were made in 2020 without taking government approval.

There were many other irregularities in MUDA after May 2023 which smack of large-scale corruption and scams, Mr. Poojary alleged. Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh too should resign, the MP demanded.