MUDA case: End of drama and open questions, says Pralhad Joshi to CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, August 31 (IANS): Attacking Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his alleged involvement in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Saturday urged the senior Congress leader to “stop the drama and face the investigation”, something Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot had already agreed to.

Talking to the media in Hubballi on Saturday, the Union minister said, “CM Siddaramaiah should end this big drama and face an inquiry. Judiciary exists. Whether the CM is innocent or not will be decided by the court and everyone should abide by its decision. Therefore, Siddaramaiah should face the inquiry first.”

“Why do Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and other Congress MPs want to conduct a ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’? They should conduct a ‘MUDA Chalo’ and apologise for their mistakes. They should go to the MUDA office and apologise for acquiring land there and distributing it among their close associates. Let them fold their hands, apologise to the MUDA and go back.”

“Hasn’t former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, who is heading the BJP government, resigned and faced the inquiry?” the Union minister asked. “There is no difference between the cases involving Yediyurappa and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Let the chief minister be subjected to the inquiry first,” he insisted.

He also condemned the Congress party’s move to “threaten and intimidate” the governor as part of the “Raj Bhavan Chalo” campaign because he had agreed to the investigation against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“If the Prime Minister claims that he is not involved in any corruption and has done nothing wrong in the MUDA scandal, then why is this drama of ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ threatening him?” asked Pralhad Joshi.

The Union minister further criticised Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar, saying, “You have promoted an official who was involved in the MUDA scandal to the registrar’s office and transferred a senior official who had written a letter stating that there was wrongdoing. Now you are intimidating the governor for allowing an inquiry.”

“CM Siddaramaiah says there is a conspiracy against him because he belongs to a lower class and has been CM twice. However, the governor also comes from a Dalit family. Earlier, the chief minister had praised him, but now after an inquiry has been allowed against him, he is threatening the governor. Why? Nobody will bow to such things.”

“Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar show no commitment to public welfare, public interest or development but are busy playing political dramas to save their seats,” said Pralhad Joshi.

He also accused the Congress government of not taking care of the crop damage caused by the rain.

“The central government quickly gave permission to purchase groundnuts, sunflower, urad dal and soyabean at support prices, but the state has not made adequate preparations.

“State government officials had called and asked for permission to buy at support prices. I had advised them to submit an application. Two days after receiving the application, the central government granted permission. But the state government has still not made any arrangements,” said Pralhad Joshi.

“In view of the lower prices of groundnut, sunflower, urad dal and soyabean in the market, the Central government has promptly approved the opening of procurement centres for the benefit of farmers. However, the Karnataka government has not yet made proper arrangements for the opening of these centres,” he said.

He accused the state government of not taking action on road construction and said, “The roads in the state are in a bad condition. Rahul Gandhi should look at the situation in Karnataka, where his own party is in power. What has happened to governance and development here?”