Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been accused in a cash laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate in reference to the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land rip-off. The case was filed after the Enforcement Directorate took observe of a First Information Report filed by the Lokayukta.
Besides Mr Siddaramaiah, his spouse BM Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju — from whom Swamy had bought land and gifted it to Parvathi — and others have been named within the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police on September 27.
The FIR was filed following the orders of a particular court docket, after the Karnataka High Court upheld Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s clearance for an investigation in opposition to the Chief Minister.
The MUDA case includes allegations of illegalities within the allotment of 14 websites to Mr Siddaramaiah’s spouse by the authority. It has been alleged that compensatory websites allotted to Mr Siddaramaiah’s spouse – situated in an upmarket space in Mysuru – is much greater than the land acquired from her by MUDA.
Mr Siddaramaiah has denied any wrongdoing and claimed the allegations in opposition to him are politically motivated.
Mr Siddaramaiah is the most recent Opposition Chief Minister to have been named as an accused in a corruption case. Earlier, the Central businesses had named and arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal, who has since stepped down from the Delhi Chief Minister’s put up.
Mr Kejriwal obtained bail from the Supreme Court after being in Tihar Jail for practically six months. Mr Soren obtained bail after 5 months. The Supreme Court had refused to entertain the Enforcement’s Directorate’s petition difficult the bail order from the High Court.