MUDA row anti-OBC conspiracy, says Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Mysuru: With the Opposition mounting pressure over a “scam” in the allotment of plots to his wife, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he is being targeted for being an OBC. 

“Everybody is jealous that Siddaramaiah, an OBC man, became chief minister twice. That is why a conspiracy is being hatched. I won’t get scared,” Siddaramaiah, a Kuruba, said. 

It is uncharacteristic of Siddaramaiah to flash his OBC credentials during a crisis, but developments in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) are hurting him as the “scam” took place in his native Mysuru district. 

The Opposition BJP has planned a major protest in Mysuru on Friday.

The 418-day-old Siddaramaiah government is also on the backfoot over embezzlement of public money at the Valmiki Maharshi ST Development Corporation.

On the MUDA case, Siddaramaiah said action will be based on the inquiry report.

“Once the report comes, we will rectify the lapses, end all irregularities and initiate action against those who have erred. We will clean up MUDA,” he said.

In lieu of her 3.16 acres of land that MUDA used to form a layout, Siddaramaiah’s wife was compensated in a 50:50 ratio, which meant that she got half the land back in the form of developed plots.

“The Mysuru deputy commissioner converted the agricultural land of my brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy in 2005. But it was not developed when he gifted it to my wife in 2010. MUDA illegally acquired it in 2014 and developed sites and distributed it,” Siddaramaiah explained.

“In order to compensate for this, they gave alternative sites in developed areas of Vijayanagar in 2021, when the BJP was in power. I was Leader of the Opposition then. Did they do it by asking me? If MUDA erred when BJP was in power, how am I responsible for that?” Siddaramaiah said. 

“If the land is acquired illegally, without our knowledge, how will I be at fault?” the CM said, asking the Opposition to furnish documents proving that plots given to his wife were illegal. 

Siddaramaiah maintained that his family sought compensation “but we had not specifically asked for sites in a developed area”.

The chief minister also reiterated that the compensation now works out to Rs 62 crore with interest. 

“In one case, Sundaramma, a woman from Srirampura second stage, also lost land in a similar way. She approached the high court seeking payment of compensation. MUDA was directed to compensate her and a penalty of Rs 1 lakh was imposed,” Siddaramaiah said. 

When asked about a complaint lodged by social activist T J Abraham regarding the value of his wife’s property mentioned in his election affidavit, Siddaramaiah said: “If the Election Commission serves a notice, I’ll answer.”