Dum biryani hotel on KHB land: Congress seeks LoP's ouster over 'scam'

Bengaluru: Looking for skeletons in Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy’s closet, the Congress on Tuesday submitted a 60-page dossier to Raj Bhavan seeking his disqualification on charges of land grabbing.

The allegations pertain to Narayanaswamy’s tenure as director of the Karnataka Housing Board (KHB) 20 years ago. Narayanaswamy denied the allegations. 

A delegation, led by Government Chief Whip Saleem Ahmed, met Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot. “The Governor assured us that he would have the matter investigated,” Ahmed said. 

The Congress said it does not want “someone tainted” to occupy the Leader of the Opposition’s chair in the Legislative Council.

According to Congress communications’ chief Ramesh Babu, Narayanaswamy was a director at KHB from November 2002 to May 2005. In Hoskote, land belonging to one Veerendra Singh was acquired by the KHB. In November 2003, Singh sought re-conveyance of lands in their favour. 

“But being a KHB director, Narayanaswamy moved an application seeking land for the purpose of a school. At the time, he was president of the Adarsha Social & Educational Trust He got a plot allotted in May 2004. He got this done despite knowing that there was an application (by Singh). He got a site measuring 2,400 sqm,” Babu said. 

Babu said that the KHB had imposed 15 conditions, which included that the land should be used only to build a school. “In 2006, Narayanaswamy misused his power to use the same site for another purpose - telecommunication and public service. When did Narayanaswamy become a telecom expert?” the Congress leader said, adding that no resolution was passed by the KHB allowing the land to be used for a different purpose. 

“Also, for any civic amenity (CA) site to be given to a trust or nonprofit, there must be audited accounts, byelaws and such things. The KHB wasn’t given anything,” Babu said.

According to the Congress, there is now a dum biryani hotel on the plot that Narayanaswamy was allotted.

Congress had earlier charged that Narayanaswamy had not used a KIADB plot in Mysuru he got many years ago except to build a shed. 

Narayanaswamy said he quit the Adarsha Social & Educational Trust 10 years ago. It was a public trust, not a private one,” he said, adding that he did nothing wrong. On the dum biryani hotel, Narayanaswamy said: “I am not the owner of the Trust. Let them (Congress) cook whatever they want.”

On him constructing a shed on the KIADB plot, Narayanaswamy said: “For power connectivity, authorities insisted on constructing a shed.”