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BM Parvathi, the wife of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday said that she was willing to return the 14 sites she had received as compensation from the Mysore Urban Development Authority, reported PTI.
This came hours after the Enforcement Directorate booked Siddaramaiah under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an alleged land scam linked to the sites.
The alleged scam pertains to the allotment of the 14 high-value housing sites in Mysuru’s Vijaynagar area to Parvathi in 2021 by the Mysore Urban Development Authority under a state government scheme. This was allegedly done in exchange for 3.16 acres of land that she owned in another part of the city. The land was allegedly illegally acquired from Dalit families.
The case was filed based on a first information report registered by the Lokayukta police against Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy and a person named Devaraju.
Swamy had allegedly bought the land from Devaraju and then gifted it to Parvathi.
In a letter to the Mysore Urban Development Authority commissioner on Monday, Parvathi said that she was allotted the 14 sites against the “usage” of her 3.16 acres of land in Kesare village in Kasaba Hobli “without even acquiring it”, according to PTI.
“I am willing to return the 14 sites by way of cancelling the sale deed,” she said in the letter. “I want MUDA [Mysore Urban Development Authority] to acquire these sites. I request you to take steps in this direction at the earliest.”
In another letter to the public, Parvathi said that Siddaramaiah had lived an “unblemished” public life. She had ensured that she did not bring a bad name to him, the letter said, according to PTI.
Parvathi said she was “hurt” after the allegations about the sites came to light.
“I can never tolerate my husband facing unjust allegations,” she said. “Nothing, including the property, wealth and house, are more precious to me than the honour and dignity of my husband.”
She added: “Hence, I have decided to return my 14 sites, which is the reason behind the controversy.”
Parvathi said that she had not asked Siddaramaiah or her son, Yathindra, for their opinions before taking the decision, PTI reported.
On Tuesday, the chief minister that although he respected his wife’s decision to return the plots, his stand was to “fight without bowing down to this injustice”.
In a post on social media, he said: “The people of the state also know that the opposition parties created a false complaint and dragged my family into the controversy to create political hatred against me.”
The chief minister said that Parvathi, who was “upset with the political conspiracy” against him, took a decision that “surprised” him.
“My wife, who never intervened in my four decades-long politics and was confined to her family, is a victim of the politics of hate against me and is suffering psychological torture,” he said. “I am sorry. However, I respect my wife’s decision to return the plots.”
Meanwhile, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said that Parvathi’s decision to return the sites was an “admission of guilt”.
“Instead of sending his [Siddaramaiah] resignation letter, a redemption letter is being written,” said BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.
He added: “If no wrong was committed, why are you returning [the sites]?…a letter of guilt has come…It’s time for Siddaramaiah to resign. He doesn’t have any moral right to continue as the chief minister.”
On Wednesday, a special court in Bengaluru had ordered a Lokayukta police investigation against Siddaramaiah after the Karnataka High Court upheld the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to prosecute him.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging Gehlot’s decision, contending that it was part of a concerted effort to destabilise the Congress government in Karnataka.
After the High Court upheld the sanction to prosecute Siddaramaiah on September 24, the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) have been demanding that he step down as the chief minister. However, he has rejected calls for his resignation, describing the allegations as politically motivated.
The Janata Dal (Secular) is an ally of the BJP in Karnataka.