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Siddaramaiah slams ED’s letter to Lokayukta on Muda

By, Bengaluru
Dec 05, 2024 08:42 AM IST

The ED’s letter to the Lokayukta alleged irregularities in the allocation of alternative sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi BM, including forgery and undue influence

Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday condemned the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) letter to the Lokayukta police concerning the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) case and termed it “politically motivated” and aimed at prejudicing the ongoing investigation.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah termed it “politically motivated” and aimed at prejudicing the ongoing investigation (ANI)
Chief minister Siddaramaiah termed it “politically motivated” and aimed at prejudicing the ongoing investigation (ANI)

“We moved an appeal before the single-bench judgment, which is coming up for hearing tomorrow (Thursday). If they (ED) have sent the letter a day before that, what does it mean?” Siddaramaiah questioned while referring to his previous appeal in the Karnataka high court challenging the governor’s sanction for prosecution against him.

The ED’s letter to the Lokayukta alleged irregularities in the allocation of alternative sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi BM, including forgery and undue influence. Siddaramaiah, however, accused the ED of trying to influence both the court and the Lokayukta investigation. “The Lokayukta inquiry is under progress… they have to complete the inquiry and submit a report. This (letter) is to make the hearing prejudicial,” he said.

The ED, probing potential money laundering, alleged that the compensatory sites were allotted to Parvathi in Mysuru’s upscale Vijayanagar Layout in exchange for her 3.16 acres of land acquired by Muda. It claimed that Siddaramaiah’s personal assistant, SG Dinesh Kumar, exerted undue influence in the process.

“The governor had asked to investigate, and the district court told Lokayukta police to submit a report by December 24. But why are they (ED) writing a letter? Isn’t it deliberate?” the CM questioned.

“There is no truth in it (the case). Let them give the report independently,” he said. He also criticised the public release of the ED’s letter and said: “They may share information, but it doesn’t mean that they should write a letter and release it to the media. The intention is totally, 100% political.”

In the letter, the ED had alleged irregularities in the allocation of sites to Parvathi and said that there were a total of 1,095 sites which were allotted illegally. The central agency had said that it found evidence against one of Siddaramaiah’s personal assistant, SG Dinesh Kumar, who allegedly wielded undue influence in the allocation of alternative sites to the chief minister’s wife.

In response to the letter, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said the ED’s probe substantiated the party’s claims of large-scale corruption in Muda. “We have been saying that the Muda scam is not restricted to the allotment of 14 sites to the chief minister’s family. The ED’s preliminary investigation has revealed that more than 700 crore worth of irregularities have taken place,” Vijayendra said at a press conference in Kalaburagi.

“The ED has carried out an impartial probe, and it confirms what we have been saying all along,” he said while questioning the Lokayukta police’s inquiry, implying it lacked the impartiality of the ED’s investigation.

Muda’s 50:50 scheme, under which Parvathi received the controversial plots, compensates landowners with developed land in exchange for undeveloped property used for residential layouts. Amid the backlash, Parvathi requested Muda to cancel the 14 sites allotted to her, which the authority accepted.

Despite this, the ED claimed broader illegalities, alleging that 1,095 sites were allotted improperly and that undue influence played a role in the allocations.

The ED filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) on September 30, following an FIR lodged by the Lokayukta police on September 27. The probe is ongoing, with both the Lokayukta and ED scrutinising the MUDA site allotments.

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