MUDA land scam: Siddaramaiah says surprised by wife's decision to return the 14 plots

MUDA land scam: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, in a letter to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) said she would return the land sites she had received from the authority. She said that she had never pursued any personal gain during her husband’s long political honour and no material possession could outweigh her husband’s clean image. The chief minister said that while he is surprised by her decision, he respects it. 

This development comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a money laundering case against the Karnataka CM and others in connection with the MUDA land scam. 

"My husband, Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister of the state, has upheld a strict code of ethics throughout his 40-year political career, remaining entirely free from any kind of blemish. I have lived my life committed to ensuring that nothing in my public or political life would cause him any embarrassment,” she wrote in the letter, while expressing distress over the accusations linked to the land allotment controversy. 

Parvathi said she never sought personal wealth or property and that the respect her husband receives brings her immense joy. This makes the false allegations against the family all the more painful, she said. .

She said she is very proud of her husband’s achievements and is resolutely committed to protect his integrity. 

Sharing the letter on social media, the chief minister said: “My wife Parvathi has returned the lands that were given in the form of compensation for the land that was seized without carrying out Muda land acquisition in Mysuru.”

He said the opposition parties created a false complaint and dragged his family in it to create political hatred against him. 

“My stand was to fight without bowing down to this injustice. But my wife, who is upset with the political conspiracy going on against me, has taken a decision to return these plots, which has surprised me too,” he acknowledged. 

Siddaramaiah has said that his wife has never intervened in his four long decades in politics. He said she is the victim of politics of hate against him and is suffering psychological torture, adding that he, nevertheless, respects his wife’s decision to return the plots. 

The ED has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Siddaramaiah and others, under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), sources said. Meanwhile, the Lokayukta police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjun Swamy, and one Devaraj, following a special court order in Bengaluru, that directed the Lokayukta police to investigate allegations of irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites 5o Parvathi valued at Rs 56 crore.