“No Question Of Resigning”: Siddaramaiah Dismisses Charges In Alleged MUDA Scam (image-X/siddaramaiah)

Amidst calls for his resignation, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday reiterated that he would not step down and dismissed the allegations of him being involved in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam.

“There is no question of resigning because I have done no wrong,” Siddaramaiah said. The state chief minister further asked whether then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi resigned during the 2002 Godhra riots. “(Union Minister HD) Kumaraswamy, who is in Narendra Modi’s government, is on bail. Has he resigned?” he said, reported Hindustan Times.

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His remarks come a day after a Special Court of the People’s Representatives asked Lokayukta’s Mysuru branch to investigate the allegations levelled in the MUDA case and submit a report in three months.

Meanwhile, veteran Congress leader KB Koliwad, a 79-year-old former Assembly Speaker, suggested the chief minister to resign to avoid further embarrassment to the party. “After he clears this blemish he can return… after all, he is supported by all MLAs and Congress high command,” the five-time MLA said.

Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and senior BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar demanded Siddaramaiah to resign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during a rally in Haryana ahead of elections, referred to the “condition of Karnataka” and accused the rival party of corruption.

A complaint was filed by activist TJ Abraham where Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathi, son, and senior MUDA officials allege an illegal allocation of multiple alternative plots in an upmarket Mysuru area as compensation for land elsewhere taken for infrastructural projects, resulting in an alleged cost of state losses amounting to over Rs 4,000 crore.

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The chief minister accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) of hatching “a grand conspiracy” against him to undermine the state government. Referring to the cases against the former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Siddaramaiah said that they are “now attempting to execute their plans in Karnataka.”