Lokayukta Questions Siddaramaiah For 2 Hrs In Muda Case; BJP Stages Protest Over 'Stage Managed' Interrogation

As the chief minister appeared before the Lokayukta police, the opposition BJP in the state held a protest and reiterated its demand for the resignation of Siddaramaiah.

The Lokayukta police on Wednesday questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here for two hours in connection with the alleged illegal land allotments by the MUDA to his wife B M Parvathi. After questioning, the Congress leader said he has answered all questions and told the "truth".

As the chief minister appeared before the Lokayukta police, the opposition BJP in the state held a protest and reiterated its demand for the resignation of Siddaramaiah. Senior BJP leaders also termed the Lokayukta police interrogation as "stage managed" and "match fixing".

Siddaramaiah, who appeared before the Lokayukta police in response to the summons issued to him, was interrogated by a team led by Lokayukta Superintendent of Police (SP) T J Udesh, official sources said.

"The questioning lasted for about two hours," a Lokayukta official said.

Speaking to reporters after his questioning, Siddaramaiah said he had answered all questions posed to him, and he had told them the "truth".

"Until it is decided by the court (about any wrongdoing) there is no black spot on my image. What is against me are just allegations. False allegations are made against me. I will respond to such allegations in the court and to the police during the probe," he said in response to a question.

Asserting that Siddaramaiah has done "no wrong", Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the chief minister appeared before the Lokayukta police, respecting the law.

Siddaramaiah arrived at the Lokayukta office here in a private car accompanied by senior advocate and the CM's legal advisor A S Ponnanna, also a Congress MLA. After questioning, he left for Channapatna to take part in the Congress campaign for assembly by-polls there.

The chief minister, who has been named as accused number 1 in the FIR lodged by the Lokayukta police, is facing allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

They had on October 25 questioned his wife, who has been named as accused number 2.

Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Mysuru-located Lokayukta police establishment on September 27. Swamy and Devaraju have already deposed before the Lokayukta police.

Protesters led by BJP MLA T S Srivatsa slammed Siddaramaiah, and asked him to step down from the chief minister's post and face the probe.They also raised doubts about the fairness of the probe against a sitting chief minister.

Senior BJP leaders B S Yediyuarappa and R Ashoka termed the Lokayukta police interrogating Siddaramaiah as "stage managed" and "match fixing". They challenged Siddaramaiah to hand over the case to the CBI if he was honest.

"The CM's tour programme says he would enter the Lokayukta office for interrogation at 10 AM and would proceed for Channapatna at 12 Noon. How could he fix time to question him? Is it match-fixing? How can he know what time the investigating officer would complete his investigation? How is the investigation happening?" Ashoka asked.

BJP Lok Sabha member and former CM Basavraj Bommai said, "for the first time in the history of Karnataka, a sitting chief minister is appearing as an accused before the police officers who have worked under him. This has lowered the dignity of the chief ministerial post." On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court issued notice to Siddaramaiah and others on a writ petition filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna, seeking a direction to transfer the case to CBI.

Justice M Nagaprasanna, who also issued notice to Parvathi, Swamy, the Union government, the State government, CBI, Lokayukta and others, directed the Lokayukta to place on record the investigation conducted in the case so far.

The court posted the next hearing to November 26.

On October 24, the chief minister filed an appeal before the division bench of the High Court, challenging the decision of a single judge bench in connection with the MUDA site allotment case that had come as a setback to him.

The bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna had on September 24 dismissed the chief minister's petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval for a probe against him in the case, observing that the gubernatorial order nowhere "suffers from want of application of mind". Siddaramaiah had challenged the legality of Gehlot's sanction for the investigation against him.

Following the High Court order, a Special Court here on the very next day had ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah, and directed to file the investigation report by December 24.

Parvathi, meanwhile, had written to MUDA to cancel 14 sites allotted to her and the MUDA had accepted it.

On September 30, the ED filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of the Lokayukta FIR, and is also probing the case.

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru (Vijayanagar Layout 3rd and 4th stages), which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.

The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout. The chief minister has denied any wrongdoing. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)