DCM: BJP charges against CM part of conspiracy against Cong govt

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday charged the BJP with levelling allegations against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment "scam" as part of its "conspiracy" against the Congress government.

“Karnataka is the biggest state for the Congress party. The BJP had never thought that the Congress would win here. So they are hatching a conspiracy against the government," Shivakumar, also the State Congress chief, told reporters here.

The BJP, along with its NDA ally the JD(S), has proposed to take out next week a "Padayatra" (foot march) from here to Mysuru, to press for the resignation of the Chief Minister over the alleged scam.

"Let them do whatever they want, let them take out as many marches as possible. We will also plan how to counter their campaign,” Shivakumar said.

The opposition BJP and JD(S) have alleged that the MUDA allotted to Chief Minister's wife Parvathi 14 sites whose value was much higher than 3.16 acres of her land which was "acquired" by it to form a residential layout.

Denying any wrongdoing, Siddaramaiah had said these sites were allotted in 2021 when the BJP was in power, adding, his wife had never demanded plots in any particular area.

The Chief Minister had maintained that the MUDA had encroached on his wife's property. When he brought the matter to the notice of MUDA officials, they allotted alternative sites in lieu of the illegal acquisition of their land.