Tejasvi Surya calls Siddaramaiah dispensation 'lame-duck government', says time for CM to resign

Calling allegations against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged MUDA and Valmiki Corporation scams "very serious", BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Saturday urged the CM to resign from his post.

His statements came as the saffron party in Karnataka has taken out a padyatra along with their NDA partners JD(S) from Bengaluru to Mysuru from August 3 to August 10 to protest the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites by MUDA.

The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) has been accused of irregularities in allotting sites which have led to land losses worth crores. This has allegedly benefitted Siddaramaiah's wife.

In the MUDA 'scam', 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.

BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA "scam" is of the magnitude of Rs 4000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.

On the other hand, Valmiki Corporation scam is said to involve about Rs 187.33 crore where the money kept in different accounts including Rs 40 crore in the government treasury was diverted towards the Union Bank of India’s MG Road branch.

"The kind of allegations that have surfaced against the Chief Minister and his family in this MUDA scam are very serious," Tejasvi Surya told ANI as he claimed that the CM and his family have been direct beneficiaries of these scams.

Calling it an "open-and-shut case", the Bengaluru South MP said, "The CM and his family have nowhere to hide. The allegations are very serious. It is time for him to resign and allow for a more competent, transparent government to come to Karnataka."

Dubbing the Congress in Karnataka as a "lame-duck government", Surya accused the ruling party in the state of having no money to carry on any development activities.

"Whatever money is left in the coffers after these mindless populist policy of theirs is being swindled away by such corruption scandals," the BJP leader added.

"We hope that this Padayatra will be the beginning of the end of the Congress government in Karnataka," Surya said.

(With PTI inputs)