Siddaramaiah deeply involved in MUDA 'scam' should resign immediately BJP

New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) As the MUDA chairman stepped down from his post on Wednesday, the BJP demanded that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also resign immediately as he is "deeply embroiled" in the land "scam".
     Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) chairman K Marigowda resigned from his post amid the row over alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M.
     "MUDA chairman has tendered his resignation... I call upon Siddaramaiah that if you have the slightest morality left, you should step down immediately. You should not wait for today's sunset," BJP national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra said at a press conference here.
     He said Marigowda's resignation and Siddaramaiah's wife "offering" to return the MUDA sites allocated to her make it clear that the chief minister is "deeply involved in the scam from head to toe".
     "There is no doubt about it," Patra said.
     Earlier in the day, Marigowda submitted his resignation to the Karnataka Urban Development Department Secretary.
     "I have resigned following directions from the CM. Also, as I had health issues, I have resigned... there was no pressure on me, as I had health issues I have resigned," Marigowda told reporters in Bengaluru.
     Responding to a question, he said, "The investigation is on, and it will continue... it will be known from the probe whether there were any irregularities."
     The BJP hit out at the Congress, calling it a “party of land grabbers”.
     “Sonia ji (former Congress president) must have provided tuition (to Siddaramaiah), (Robert) Vadra must have assisted him in revising the lessons and Rahul Gandhi must have got it implemented…Gandhi family knows well how to grab the country’s land,” Patra said.
     The BJP leader also targeted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, raising the issue of alleged irregularities in the allocation of a 5-acre land to a trust run by his family in Karnataka.
     “Kharge family-run trust has not only grabbed the 5-acre land near hi-tech defence aerospace park in Bengaluru but also land of the Waqf Board,” Patra alleged referring to former Karnataka State Minorities Commission Chairman Anwar Manippady’s submission before the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
     Several opposition MPs on Monday boycotted a meeting of the parliamentary committee examining the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, alleging that the panel was not functioning in accordance with rules, after Kharge was accused by Manippady of being involved in Waqf land scams.
     In his submission before the panel, Manippady had named several Congress leaders from Karnataka, including Kharge and Rehman Khan, and others for their alleged involvement in embezzling Waqf properties.
     Patra also slammed the Congress over the Enforcement Directorate’s claim that more than seven lakh people in the Bellary Lok Sabha seat were given Rs 200 each to vote in favour of the party’s candidate during Lok Sabha polls this year and the money came from the cash siphoned in the alleged Valmiki scam by former Karnataka tribal minister B Nagendra along with his aides.
     In its charge sheet, the central probe agency also claimed that the legislator utilised the government funds to "cover" his personal expenses, like booking flights for himself and his associates, payment of electricity bills, vehicle maintenance and paying the monthly salaries of household staff.
     “Despite this we have to hold a press conference to ask him (Siddaramaiah) to leave the throne. This kind of shamelessness is only possible in the Congress,” Patra said and appealed to the people to “build pressure” on the Karnataka chief minister for his resignation.
     Siddaramaiah is facing probes by the Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.
     The chief minister has denied any wrongdoing and rejected the opposition's calls for his resignation.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)