‘Don’t know on what grounds…’: Siddaramaiah asks how is MUDA land scam a money laundering case

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is the focus of an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation on the allotment of MUDA (Mysuru Urban Development Authority) plots, asked how the agency has slapped a case of money laundering. How is it a money laundering case, he asked. 

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the Karnataka CM said, “I don’t know on what grounds it’s a money laundering case. Probably you too feel the same. According to me, it does not attract the money laundering case because compensatory sites were given. So, how is it a money laundering case?”

The ED has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), which is equivalent to an FIR, against Siddaramaiah over the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife by MUDA.

The CM said that there is no possibility of a resignation over the case. “I work with conscience. So there is no need for me to resign,” he said. This comes after Karnataka BJP chief B Y Vijayendra called for the CM’s resignation, after his wife offered to return the 14 plots in contention. Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathi said that she never pursued any personal gains during her husband’s long political career, and would return the plots to retain his clean image and integrity. 

Siddaramaiah said that he is surprised by her decision to return the 14 plots, but said that he respects her decision. 

Vijayendra said that while Siddaramaiah accused Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot of acting as a puppet in the hands of Delhi and claimed to have done no wrong, he has only done so to escape from legal hurdles and gain political sympathy. "We urge the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is facing allegations and is standing as an accused to stop being adamant and to resign from his post," he said, adding that it is all a “political drama”. 

Lokayukta police on September 27 registered an FIR against Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, one Devaraju, and others, following a Special Court order.