BJP demands CM Siddaramaiah's resignation over MUDA scam

New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) The national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and MP, Tejasvi Surya on Saturday welcomed Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. He also demanded the resignation of the CM. 

Addressing a joint press conference at the BJP headquarters along with the party's national spokesperson Sambit Patra, Surya said that the governor's decision to allow prosecution clarifies that the investigation agency will now do its job.

However, he questioned how an agency, that reports directly to the Chief Minister, can conduct an independent and fair investigation against the CM.

He added that for justice, CM Siddaramaiah should take moral responsibility and resign immediately to ensure a free and fair inquiry into the scam.

Tejasvi Surya explained the MUDA scam in detail, saying that the Congress leaders are terming it as a conflict between the governor and the state government.

He said that this is not a dispute between the two but a very serious corruption case. The governor has followed all the rules and procedures to allow prosecution of the Chief Minister for corruption. Surya also criticised the Congress, CM Siddaramaiah, the Gandhi family, and Robert Vadra on corruption issues.

Earlier, addressing the media, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra accused Siddaramaiah of a Rs.4,000 crore scam in the MUDA.

He compared it to the Rs.5,000 crore National Herald scam involving the Gandhi family, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are out on bail.

Patra thanked the governor for allowing the prosecution of Siddaramaiah and said that earlier, files requesting permission in such cases would be stalled for political reasons, like during Manmohan Singh's government at the Centre.

He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, no corrupt individual is being spared. This decision proves that Siddaramaiah and his family were involved in the land allotment scam.

He mentioned that in 2004, Siddaramaiah's wife's brother bought around 3.61 acres of land in Kesari village, which later became the property of Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvati, in 2005. It was later discovered that this land transfer was illegal as it belonged to a Dalit, but Siddaramaiah's wife received 14 plots in exchange.

Patra also mocked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's visit to Bengaluru, asking if Kharge went there to protect the scam accused, and whether he would also go to Kolkata.

Referring to Priyanka Gandhi's slogan "Mai Ladki Hu, Lad Sakti Hu" Patra questioned whether Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi would go to Kolkata. He also raised concerns about the transfer of doctors by Mamata Banerjee's government and wore a black armband in solidarity with the doctors.

Targeting the Karnataka scam and the rape and murder of a female doctor in Kolkata, Patra criticised how the Congress and TMC leaders, who recently took oath holding the Constitution, are now disrespecting it. He said disrespect of the Constitution is evident in both West Bengal and Karnataka.