"List of Congress govt's scams is getting longer": BJP MP on Justice Kempanna Commission report

New Delhi [India], September 30 : BJP MP Lahar Singh Siroya on Monday said that the Justice Kempanna Commission, appointed by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has confirmed that the Siddaramiah-led government (2013-2018) violated Supreme Court guidelines by illegally denotifying 325.46 acres in Arkavathy Layout, Bangalore and said that the list of the Congress government's scams is getting longer.
"It has now come to light that the four-volume (1861 pages) Js. Kempanna Commission report had found that nearly 325.62 acres of land were illegally de-notified in the Arkavathy Layout, near Bangalore, in clear violation of Supreme Court guidelines. This means, it is established that it is a scam of a few thousand crores," the BJP MP stated
He further said that "this de-notification happened in the first term of the Siddaramaiah government (2013-2018). Interestingly, the Js. Kempanna Commission was constituted by the then Siddaramaiah government after the Opposition had made a serious allegation that the de-notification process was heavily compromised."
The BJP leader said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had maintained that "no illegality" had been committed in the de-notification process and the Supreme Court guidelines had been adhered to.
"Even a few days ago, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had maintained that no illegality had been committed in the de-notification process and the Supreme Court guidelines had been adhered to. But I wonder what he would now say to the revelations in the note written by an officer serving under his own government, on a commission set up by his own government. Will he at least now honestly admit that his government did wrong? The note that exposes this finding of the commission was written in 2017 by an IAS officer of the Additional Chief Secretary level in-charge of the Government of Karnataka's Urban Development Department. It was written for the exclusive consumption of the government and has important notings on it. The Siddaramaiah government had resisted pressure to table the Js. Kempanna Commission report in the Assembly, and the reason as to why it stubbornly fought to suppress the report is now apparent," he said.
He further said that the Kempanna Commission report is such a detailed and thorough one that an FIR should be filed directly without any delay.
"Recently, the Hon'ble Governor of Karnataka, Thawar Chand Gehlot Ji, had asked the Chief Secretary to send across the JS Kempanna Commission report and files related to the Arkavathy Layout for his perusal. Without wasting time, the present Siddaramaiah government had instructed the Chief Secretary to not send anything across to the Governor without the permission of the cabinet. They did not care that they were committing an unconstitutional act by giving such an instruction. The files have still not reached the Governor. Was the Siddaramaiah government is afraid that yet another mega scam of the Congress government would be exposed? As mentioned earlier, the Arkavathy layout de-notification is pegged to be a scam worth a few thousand crores. Whom did this scam benefit? Where did its illegal proceeds go to? Did it fund any election? In fact, since the Js. Kempanna Commission report is such a detailed and thorough one, an FIR should be filed directly without any delay. The Congress government should trust the commission that it itself set up," Siroya stated.
He further said that the MUDA scam, the Valmiki Corporation scam, the KIADB scam, the Arkavathy scam, etc, "the list of the Congress government's scams only gets longer."
"We are bound to see these scams cause a political earthquake in Karnataka soon," he said.
Earlier today, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in an alleged money laundering case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), the sources said.
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that Karnataka Chief Minister will be proved innocent.
"It is no secret that the ED has become a tool for the non-biological Prime Minister to harass political opponents and carry out politics of vengeance and revenge. In May 2023, the people of Karnataka rejected him badly. He is unable to forget that humiliation. The Congress believes that he and his ED will soon be fully exposed. We have nothing to fear in any way. The Karnataka Chief Minister will be proved innocent," Jairam Ramesh posted on X.
On September 27, the Lokayukta Police filed an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister and others in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment 'scam'.
The FIR has been filed by the Mysuru Lokayukta under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 351, 420, 340, 09, and 120B among others, they said.
The FIR mentions CM Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law and others as accused in the case, they added.
It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in the prime location of Mysuru city.
The BJP has demanded that CM Siddaramiah resign and the probe be taken over by the ED and CBI.
"In the case of Karnataka Congress CM Siddaramaiah's MUDA scam, the way his family made huge wealth by misusing land and government authority in the Mysore Urban Development Authority, the court has given this decision in which CM Siddaramaiah has been made accused number one. Is the Chief Minister the first and the prime accused in this? The important thing is no central agency has investigated this and no one has filed an application on their own," RS MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said.
CM Siddaramiah however has quashed all demands for his resignation.
"Let them first take the resignation of HD Kumaraswamy and others; shouldn't they make them Kumaraswamy resign? Even Modi also has to resign in the electoral bond issue. They have misused the electoral bond and looted; in that issue, HD Kumarswamy, Nirmala Sitharaman and Modi resign first," Siddaramaiah said.