MUDA case: ED likely to initiate action against CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Dec 4 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is preparing to initiate action against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following the gathering of "clinching evidence" against him in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case, sources said on Wednesday.

The ED sleuths have gathered information on the money trail and hawala transactions regarding the MUDA scam after petitioner Snehamayi Krishna filed a complaint with the probe agency.

The ED has already written a letter to the Karnataka Lokayukta on its findings and shared information on the alleged illegal allotment of sites to CM Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathy as compensation.

According to sources, the ED has gathered evidence of illegal allotments of thousands of sites to CM Siddaramaiah's family and supporters.

Earlier, the ED sleuths grilled CM Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and land owner J. Devaraju.

RTI activist Gangaraju had also submitted crucial documents in connection with the MUDA case to the ED.

Karnataka BJP President B. Y. Vijayendra said on Wednesday that "controversy regarding the illegal land allocations in the MUDA scam had already highlighted the role of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, backed by evidence, including records showing that 14 plots were allocated to his family and thousands of plots were looted".

Based on these records, the High Court upheld the Governor's decision to grant prosecution permission, enabling an open investigation.

"The District Commissioners had written to the government, stating that the MUDA scam caused losses worth thousands of crores to the state. Following this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated an investigation to shed light on the actual state of affairs," Vijayendra stated.

"While Lokayukta's direction in the investigation has raised suspicions, the ED's findings have further exposed the reality behind the Chief Minister's facade," he charged.

"Despite all this, CM Siddaramaiah seems determined to continue his political manoeuvres, similar to former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's approach, as if taking a vow that "even if I go to jail, I won't relinquish the Chief Minister's chair." The Congress High Command's inability to act against Siddaramaiah reflects the unfortunate state of Karnataka politics," Vijayendra chided.

The sources also confirmed that the Karnataka government has cancelled 48 residential plots approved by the MUDA in a desperate attempt to escape the ED action.

Former MUDA Commissioner Dinesh Kumar made these allotments causing heavy losses to the state exchequer. The sites worth crores were allegedly allotted for Rs 4 to Rs 5 lakh.

The said sites were distributed in the name of a non-existent cooperative society, and former Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Rajendra had called it a big scam and also submitted a report, the sources said.

The plots, located in Dattagalli Layout, were allocated in December 2023 during MUDA's general meeting.

Urban Development Secretary K. Latha issued the order following the instructions of CM Siddaramaiah, the sources stated.

The ED, in a recent communication sent to the Karnataka Lokayukta department, claimed that MUDA had "illegally" allotted a total of 1,095 sites in benami and other such transactions.

The agency has also claimed to have found evidence that one of CM Siddaramaiah's assistants, S. G. Dinesh Kumar alias C. T. Kumar, wielded "undue influence" in the process.

"Most of the allotments have been made in the name of Benami or dummy persons in the guise of land losers. However, the beneficiaries of these illegal allotments are real estate businessmen and influential persons," the Enforcement Directorate probe found.