In a bid to counter the allegations levelled by the Opposition regarding his involvement in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah on Monday, August 26, released a video showcasing the letter written by his wife Parvathi to the authorities seeking compensation. 

The BJP and JD(S) had earlier claimed that a portion of the letter in which the CM’s wife had sought sites in Vijayanagar Layout had been whitened out. 

Countering these allegations, Siddaramaiah held the letter against a torch which illuminated the censored text. The words visible against the light showed that Parvathi had asked for sites as compensation in Devanoor Layout 3rd Stage or another layout developed by MUDA. 

The allegations against Siddaramaiah pertain to a plot of land in Mysuru which was acquired for the development of Devanoor Layout 3rd and 4th Stage.

Parvathi’s brother Mallikarjun had bought the land after it was denotified and gifted it to her. However, MUDA continued to develop it, and subsequently Parvathi wrote to MUDA seeking compensation as it had developed her land even though it had been denotified. MUDA later allotted her 14 sites in Vijayanagar Layout, allegedly in violation of the law. As per the rules, compensatory sites can only be given in the layout for which the land was acquired. 

Read: Siddaramaiah claims innocence in MUDA land scam: Why it’s not so simple

Lashing out at the BJP and JD(S), the CM maintained that no illegality was involved, and that neither he nor his wife had asked MUDA for sites in a particular location. He criticised the Opposition for trying to project him and his family as “criminals”. 

Although the Congress was initially slow to back Siddaramaiah, the party has now thrown its weight behind him. When allies BJP and JD(S) took out a padayatra to Mysuru over the allegations, the Congress also responded with a padayatra of its own. Seers of several mutts and Ahinda leaders have come out in support of Siddaramaiah, alleging that the Opposition was targeting him because of his caste. Siddaramaiah belongs to the socially backward Kuruba community.  

Meanwhile, Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot has accorded sanction to prosecute the CM on the basis of three complaints. The CM has petitioned the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the Governor’s sanction.