Dharwad
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jagadish Shettar on Monday raised questions about the timing of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s family decision to return five acres of land. The land, initially allotted to a trust run by Kharge’s son, Rahul Kharge, is now being returned to the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB). Shettar sought an explanation for the sudden move, suggesting it was linked to recent allegations.
‘When accusations surfaced regarding the Siddhartha Trust of Mallikarjun Kharge, they decided to give the land back. The Kharges must explain why they sought government land in the first place and why they are returning it now,’ Shettar stated.
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi echoed Shettar’s concerns, alleging that the Congress leaders were returning the land to avoid humiliation in court. ‘This move exposes the misuse of power for land grabbing in Karnataka,’ he said, pointing to previous cases involving top Congress leaders, including Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in land-related scandals.
The controversy deepened recently when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) booked CM Siddaramaiah for alleged money laundering linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam. Following a court order on September 27, the Mysuru Lokayukta launched an investigation into claims that MUDA illegally allotted 14 plots, valued at Rs 56 crore, to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, in a prime area of Mysuru city. The Kharge family and Siddaramaiah have both moved to return the land amidst the growing scrutiny.
