'Siddaramaiah must resign': BJP steps up heat on Karnataka CM over Valmiki, MUDA scams

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a massive protest against the Karnataka government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over alleged scams in the Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation and the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). 

BJP leader CT Ravi demanded the resignation of the chief minister, saying Siddaramaiah must step down for any fair probe into the scam. He also said that the ruling Congress looted the corporation and used the money in the elections.  

"They (Congress) have looted Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation. Congress has used this money for election purposes. It is our duty to serve justice to the Dalits. They have looted the money of Dalits. We cannot stay silent anymore. The prices of milk, petrol, and every other thing have increased," he said while speaking to ANI. 

The Karnataka BJP leaders marched towards Vidhana Soudha as they held a protest against the state government over multi-crore scams. "It (Valmiki) is a big scam of 180 crores in the state," Karnataka Assembly LoP R Ashok said. "This government will hike the price of everything as they don't have money. Already we are witnessing a hike in milk and fuel prices. They don't care about the common people. Karnataka Congress is the ATM for the Delhi Congress."

Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, however, said that an SIT had been formed to probe the case and that everyone should wait for the report. "The CM and the minister have clearly said that the officials have mishandled these accounts. We have also formed a single judge bench for the MUDA issue, so whatever concern BJP has, it should raise it in the assembly with documents."

It is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA. The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout. The scheme envisages allotting 50 per cent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts.

Pointing out that following the allegations, the chief minister is now saying his family doesn't want alternative sites given to his wife in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land acquired by MUDA, and that they be paid Rs 62 crore as compensation as per rules. 

The issue surfaced when P. Chandrasekharan, the accounts superintendent of the corporation, died by suicide on May 26, citing senior officials' pressure on the Rs 87 crore fund misappropriation. In his six-page suicide note, Chandrasekharan accused two department officials of money misappropriation.

Earlier this month, Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy claimed the alleged land scam was an "outcome" of a power struggle between Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar. "It’s an old news. Why has it surfaced now? The MUDA scam is getting lots of publicity now. Who started it? The person who is anxious to become the next Chief Minister and is waiting to unseat Siddaramaiah has done it," Kumaraswamy said without directly naming Shivakumar.

The Valmiki scam involves illegal money transfers from the Corporation. The scam came to the fore after its accounts superintendent, Chandrasekharan P killed himself on May 26. He left behind a note claiming unauthorised transfer of Rs 187 crore belonging to the Corporation from its bank account. From that, Rs 88.62 crore was illegally moved to various accounts allegedly belonging to "well-known" IT companies and a Hyderabad-based cooperative bank among others.

Chandrasekharan has named the Corporation's now-suspended Managing Director J G Padmanabh, accounts officer Parashuram G Durugannavar, and Union Bank of India Chief Manager Suchismita Rawal in the note, while also stating that the "Minister" had issued oral orders for transferring the funds.

Last Friday, the Enforcement Directorate arrested former state Minister B Nagendra in connection with the case. 

The state government has constituted an SIT headed by Manish Kharbikar, Additional Director General of Police, Economic Offences, at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), to conduct the probe.