Kick-started on Saturday at Kengeri near Bengaluru, the march on its first day covered a distance of 16 km to reach Bidadi.
Published Aug 04, 2024 | 3:16 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 04, 2024 | 3:16 PM
HD Kumaraswamy and BY Vijayendra in the Padayatra. (X)
The opposition BJP and JD(S), on Sunday, 4 August, continued their week-long protest march from Bengaluru to Mysuru for the second day, against alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment scam, seeking to corner the Congress government and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The ‘Mysuru Chalo padayatre’ against the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by MUDA, including to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi and demanding his resignation- on the second day, began at Bidadi in Ramanagara and is scheduled to cover a distance of 22 km to reach Kengal.
BJP State President and MLA BY Vijayendra, JD(S) State President and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Opposition Leader in Legislative Council Chalavadhi Narayanswamy, JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy, several legislators, leaders and workers from both parties took part.
A large number of workers and leaders from both parties were seen marching, shouting slogans against Siddaramaiah and the Congress government led by him, holding BJP and JD(S) flags and placards, amidst drum beats.
The stretch through which the march passed was decked up with flags of both parties, buntings and portraits of prominent leaders at several places.
Kick-started on Saturday at Kengeri near Bengaluru, the march on its first day covered a distance of 16 km to reach Bidadi.
Addressing the gathering ahead of the march, Vijayendra said the ruling Congress, Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar are “trembling”, following the opposition’s protest march.
“I have seen in the media that the CM and DCM are now questioning the opposition parties as we have begun the protest march, it is for the first time probably the ruling party is questioning the opposition. We are raising our voice against the corrupt Congress government, in favour of SC/STs, backward classes, poor and downtrodden people,” he said.
Alleging that the Congress after coming to power has indulged in loot, Vijayendra accused Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar of offering the looted money to the “Gandhi family” (Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi). “If we question them about the loot, they (govt) are running away from answering it. They are questioning us today.”
The Congress is holding public meetings to counter the BJP-JD(S)’ foot march to Mysuru, by targeting both parties and the Union government.
Kumaraswamy, in his address, said, the day the Congress came to power in the state, it opened its “shop of corruption”. He accused it of looting the money that was to be used for the welfare of the people of the state.
“There is competition among the Ministers, they are indulging in corruption. We have accused the government with records. But, they are making false allegations against the opposition without any document or proof,” he said.
Stating that no one is against Siddaramaiah’s wife getting sites, Kumaraswamy said the opposition is against the illegal means with which the CM’s family got the sites by misusing power.
“The 3.16 acres of land in lieu of which your (CM) family got fourteen sites, don’t belong to you, it belonged to MUDA…by creating false documents for the government land you have taken 14 sites in your wife’s name,” he said.
DCM Shivakumar, countering the opposition’s protest on Friday went after Kumaraswamy and his family’s immovable assets, and dared him to come clean about this.
In response, Kumaraswamy questioned Shivakumar’s morality and said, “The DCM has questioned my assets, it is the same as it was 15 years ago. Fifteen years ago, I bought 45 acres of land at Kethiganahalli from the money I earned as a film distributor. This was before I entered politics.”
He accused Shivakumar of involvement in alleged irregularities in the Shanthinagar Housing Society scam, also forcibly taking away lands from several innocent people.
“There are pages together to reveal about you (Shivakumar), one CBI or ED won’t be enough to probe,” Kumaraswamy claimed and said if he had committed any wrong, PM Narendra Modi wouldn’t have given him the responsibility as Union Minister.
Noting that Shivakumar these days is alleging a conspiracy by the opposition to send him to jail, he said, “He has said that he was ready for it. Probably your Guru whom you revere, has told you to be prepared for it…Shivakumar swear on the name of your Guru – Nonavinakere Ajjayya – if you are honest. Your Guru too probably won’t save you.”
In the MUDA ‘scam’, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by MUDA.
MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
BJP leaders have claimed the MUDA “scam” is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single-member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA ‘scam’.
Based on a petition filed by advocate-activist TJ Abraham, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot issued a “show-cause notice” on July 26 directing the Chief Minister to submit his reply to the allegations against him within seven days as to why permission for prosecution should not be granted against him.
The Karnataka government on Thursday “strongly advised” the Governor to withdraw his “show-cause notice” to the Chief Minister, and alleged “gross misuse of the Constitutional Office” of the Governor.
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