Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar sought Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaih's resignation. Chandrasekhar asked Siddaramaiah to not become 'second Arvind Kejriwal', who was 'thrown out' after a court ruling, by keeping himself in office.
The former Union minister's takedown of Karnataka CM came after the Karnataka High Court dismissed Siddaramaiah's petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval on probe into the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.
"The High Court has today ruled that the Governor's sanction is correct. It opens the door for an investigation into the scam. I think it is time for Siddaramaiah to resign. And not become another Arvind Kejriwal, hanging on to the office till he is finally thrown out," Chandrasekhar was quoted as saying by newswire ANI.
He also claimed Siddaramaiah is involved in the alleged MUDA scam and that the latter has gifted an extensive amount of land to his family, Kharge's family and many other Karnataka Congress leaders.
The BJP leader also asked Leader of Opposition to clarify the grand old party's stand on the issue. Furthermore, he claimed that Siddaramaiah is continuing the Congress party's tradition of coming into governance in the name of the poor.
"Siddaramaiah is only continuing the traditions of the Congress party where they enter politics in the name of helping the poor and make false promises of development and progress, but always end up enriching their own vaults," he said.
The MUDA scam in Karnataka pertains to the allegations of irregularities in land allotments under a 50:50 site distribution scheme. The scheme, which was implemented in 2020, allowed landowners whose property was acquired for public projects to receive 50 per cent of the developed land in return.
The issue grabbed headlines when it was alleged that CM Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi received 14 premium plots in a high-end Mysuru locality, which violated regulations. The plot in question was initially a 3.16-acre land in Kesaru village, which was transferred to Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law in 2005 and gifted to his wife in 2010.
The land was allegedly acquired by MUDA for development and compensatory plots were allocated, allegedly in more valuable areas, raising concerns about favouritism and corruption.