Prosecution of CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA scam sanctioned by K’taka Guv

Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's prosecution in the MUDA land scandal was approved by Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot on Saturday, August 17. The ruling permits an official inquiry into the sites that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) gave to Siddaramaiah's wife in return for land that was acquired.

According to the Karnataka CMO, the Chief Secretary's office has received the order authorising the prosecution. Following an RTI activist's appeal to the governor requesting permission to bring charges against Chief Minister Siddaramiah, this has occurred. The Governor had also been approached by two more people, Pradeep Kumar SP and Snehamayi Krishna, who wanted permission to prosecute.

The Governor has granted authorisation for prosecution under section 218 (prosecution of public servants) of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhita and section 17 (investigations by authorised persons) of the Prevention of Corruption Act in his order.

A one-man panel of former High Court judge PN Desai was previously formed by the Karnataka government to look into the matter. Examining claims about the purchase, de-notification, gifting, encroachment, and allocation of alternative locations pertaining to 3.16 acres of land owned by BM Parvathi, the wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was part of the panel's duty, the News Minute reported.

The opposition, led by the BJP, has been putting increasing pressure on Siddaramaiah to resign as chief minister and to turn the investigation over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The BJP has claimed that fraudulent allotments connected to the MUDA affair could result in losses of almost Rs 4,000 crore.