Don't divert attention from MUDA scam by making allegations against me: Kumaraswamy to Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Aug 22 (IANS) Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday asked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to divert the attention from his involvement in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam by levelling false allegations of corruption against him. 

Taking to X on Thursday, Kumaraswamy said, "I understand your attempt to divert attention from the MUDA scam against you. I also very well understand your desperate thirst for power and wealth, as you strive to cling to authority by any means necessary."

"If I reveal your involvement with the Belekeri mining scam criminals, police constables will have to line up in front of your house. Be careful," he warned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

"I see how low you've stooped, standing in a thief's place and preaching to the village. But you are a master of all trades, and such filthy work comes naturally to you!" the Union Minister said.

"You (CM Siddaramaiah) alleged that I approved 550 acres for Sai Venkateshwara Minerals company for mining illegally. My signature has been forged. However, I will respond to the allegations against me to the press; running away is not my style. But why are you in such a pathetic state, clinging to that report against me like it's your lifeline? You claim to have no blemish in your 40-year political career, yet you resorted to futile attempts to remove the blackspot by a whitener?" Kumaraswamy asked the Chief Minister.

He was referring to allegations of tampering with land records to hide his role by CM Siddaramaiah cropped up recently.

It is alleged that the letter written to MUDA by Siddaramaiah's wife requesting alternative land is forged.

"There is a mountain of records showing how you and your family devoured government land in MUDA. Are the records you smuggled in a helicopter false? Can your ploy of using whitener to erase those stains, Mr. Siddaramaiah be successful?" Kumaraswamy alleged.

"You (CM Siddaramaiah) say there is no signature or note from you, or an order. But, your note suggested asking for Rs 62 crore in compensation for 14 sites. Is your tongue without any control? It stretches towards my plate, eager to taste the flavour of dead flesh," he said.

"Mr. Siddaramaiah, you claim to be a legal expert, a lawyer. Don't you know what the Supreme Court's order to the SIT in 2011 was? I had already advised you not to repeatedly proclaim that you are a lawyer. Wisdom doesn't appeal to the foolish," Kumaraswamy chided.

"You are running around waving the letter that the SIT sent to the Governor. Watching a moth fly is a sight to behold, but it's unaware of the flames below. I feel pity for you. Your joy is only temporary, Mr. Siddaramaiah," he said.

"I am not in your pathetic situation, where you surround yourself with stooges, manipulate the high command, stab those who trusted you in the back, and play politics for the sake of power. My politics is not like yours, driven by money or authority. With or without power, I am still myself. If one must lose, lose like a warrior. That great ascetic is my ideal. Even when I renounced 20 months of power and a 14-month government, I remained unfazed. Is this possible for you?" Kumaraswamy asked.

"I would never do anything to compromise the honour of the esteemed Prime Minister. I know how to protect myself and how to safeguard against your malicious schemes," he said.

"Mr Siddaramaiah, you claim my cases will be presented as episodes. I hold hundreds of your episodes that will determine your fate. I could make a pan-India movie with thousands of chapters," he slammed the Chief Minister.