The BJP in Karnataka has stepped up its protest against allegations of corruption by the Congress government in the state. Opposition parties claim the Congress has no moral right to continue in power after a “series of corruption scandals”, including the Valmiki money transfer scam. Now, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is under scrutiny over the allotment of land to his wife from the Mysuru Municipal Development Authority (MUDA).
Ironically, the BJP had lost power in Karnataka in 2023 due to several corruption allegations against the government and then chief minister Basavaraj Bommai. Later, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Karnataka BJP launched a campaign against the Congress, claiming that it was free to destroy the country’s economy, but the vote did not resonate with the voters.
“Congress has run a corrupt government, and everything is visible. Scams after scams unraveling. Scams worth more than Rs 4,000 crore happened when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister in his previous tenure. Now this is added to the kitty. Neither the people nor the BJP will be The audience is silent on this. We will expose it at every point. In the MUDA case, we want the CBI to investigate because we do not expect a fair investigation by the CM,” Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra told News18.
The BJP has been holding protests across the country on various issues, hoping to put pressure on the Congress. These include allegations of embezzlement by government officials working with the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, as well as controversies over hikes in fuel, electricity, and excise rates.
Former minister B Nagendra was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday during an investigation into Rs 88.62 crore allegedly illegally credited to an account linked to an IT company and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank. The ED has conducted raids in Bengaluru, Raichur, and Ballari as part of its investigation into how unauthorized transfers worth Rs 187 crore were made from the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation’s bank account.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was also attacked after his wife Parvathi, who owns 3 acres of land in Kesare village in Mysuru, a gift from her brother Mallikarjun, allegedly had her land taken by MUDA. In 2021, under BJP rule in Karnataka, he was compensated with a plot totaling 38,283 square feet in Vijayanagar area, a major locality in Mysuru. The BJP claimed this was a scam, stating that the market value of the land plot was higher than the original land value in Kesare. Siddaramaiah objected, saying his wife was entitled to compensation. The BJP disagreed.
“This is a fraud of more than Rs 5,000 crore in which the wife of the chief minister of the state is benefiting. The CM cannot escape from his responsibility and accountability to the people of the country. Let him show the documents and bring the truth. He claims that the allocation was made during BJP’s rule. Why don’t they come clean? It’s obvious that someone is fishing,” BY Vijayendra said.
Siddaramaiah rejected the BJP’s allegations and denied any fraud in his government. He called the protests by the BJP politically motivated to mislead the people of the country. “Wasn’t it the BJP that did it?” asked CM about MUDA land allocation.
A complaint was filed against Siddaramaiah and nine others on Wednesday for allegedly forging documents to claim compensation from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The Congress, which came to power built its election campaign on corruption charges against the ruling BJP, now over, having to fight its own corruption charges.
“Only an agency like the CBI can investigate the matter fairly. There is clear evidence that the CM was involved in the allocation of MUDA land, and he should immediately resign. The state government’s SIT will not be able to investigate fairly. Our efforts will continue to protest daily until we see justice is served. Be it the multi-crore MUDA case or the Valmiki fund scam, even the leader himself says there is rampant corruption, what does this show?” Wijayandra said.
The Congress has hit out at the BJP, saying the saffron party should be seen first.
“BJP is only doing politics. If there is a corruption case, prove it first, whether it is Valmiki or MUDA case. In MUDA case, it is BJP who has to justify why they gave us land, we don’t need to justify why we bought the land,” said the Labor Minister Karnataka Santosh Lad. The question of corruption did not arise with the Congress because the land was given during the BJP government, Lad explained.
BY Vijayendra countered by saying that the position of MUDA allocation was not the issue, but the CM’s wife’s right to compensation. He said the CM’s wife was ineligible for 14 sites and the sale deed showed she was eligible for only two sites. The land which should have been given to the poor was given to the CM’s family and industrialists, he said.
“Siddaramaiah is a former CM and leader of the opposition, and his son is also MLA and MUDA chairman. Was the allocation done under pressure to give him more than his share? Does the CM not know how much land his wife owns? He cannot escape responsibility by saying it’s the BJP government. That’s our claim,” Vijayendra said.
Reacting to Nagendra’s arrest, minister Lad said the leader, on moral grounds, had resigned. Three agencies are investigating the Valmiki scam – the SIT formed by the state government, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Enforcement Directorate. So far, 11 people have been arrested, and the SIT has recovered Rs 14.5 crore of the diverted money.
“First, the Prime Minister should resign on the electoral bond issue, which is one of the biggest scams in the country’s history. Nagendra resigned, SIT is investigating, CBI and ED are also investigating, What more does BJP want?” he asked again.
Lad challenged the BJP to talk about the coal scam, electoral bonds, NEET exam scam, train accidents, terror attacks, and collapse of infrastructure, including airports and roads. “This is an issue we don’t want to discuss,” he said.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge asserted that the allegations were leveled, thereby spreading doubt among the public. The Congress is planning to take on the BJP in the upcoming monsoon session of the Assembly.
“When will BJP talk about the disproportionate assets case pending in the SC against them? Be it an election bond or even a POCSO case against their leader. They should be ashamed. They should clean their house first,” Kharge told News18.
