K'taka CM lashes out at Guv, says he is like 'puppet' of Centre

Mysuru, NT Bureau: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday lashed out at the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for issuing him a show-cause notice and accused him of functioning as a "puppet" of the central government and the BJP-JD(S).

Siddaramaiah described as “illegal and unconstitutional” the issue of notice asking him why sanction for prosecution against him should not be given in the case of alleged irregularities in the distribution of sites by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist T J Abraham, the Governor issued the notice on July 26 directing the Chief Minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days justifying why permission to prosecute him should not be granted.

The Council of Ministers, at a meeting here on Thursday, urged the Governor to withdraw the notice. In the MUDA 'scam', it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi 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.

The MUDA had allotted 14 sites to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.

Under the scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming layouts. BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA "scam" is of the magnitude of Rs 4000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.