Congress workers gather outside Lokayukta police office in Mysuru with ‘Satyameva Jayate’ placards

A day after a special court in Bengaluru accepted the ‘B’ report filed by the Lokayukta police in the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), Congress workers staged a demonstration outside the office of Mysuru district Superintendent of Lokayukta police on January 28, holding placards reading ’Satyameva Jayate’.

The demonstration was led by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson M. Lakshmana, who described the special court’s decision as a “victory for justice” and alleged that the case was the result of a “conspiracy hatched by the BJP and JD(S) to unseat Chief Minister Siddaramaiah by levelling false allegations”.

He said the ‘B’ report clearly established that there were no irregularities in the allotment of MUDA sites to Mr. Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, as compensation for the acquisition of 3 acres and 16 guntas of land belonging to her for the development of a layout.

Mr. Lakshmana further alleged that the complainant, Snehamayi Krishna, had been used as a “side actor” by BJP and JD(S) leaders as part of the alleged conspiracy to bring down the Chief Minister.

Questioning the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for registering an FIR against Mr. Siddaramaiah based on an e-mail complaint by Snehamayi Krishna, the KPCC spokesperson challenged the agency to initiate a probe against the complainant and verify the source of his income, including how he was able to engage senior advocates in the Supreme Court.

Mr. Lakshmana claimed that the special court, while accepting the ‘B’ report and giving a clean chit to Mr. Siddaramaiah and three others, had limited the ED’s role in the investigation. 

He said the court had held that the ED’s right to intervene in the matter as an aggrieved party was limited, and therefore, it could not proceed with an independent investigation against Mr. Siddaramaiah and the others in the case.

Yaduveer Targeted

Mr. Lakshmana also launched a sharp attack on Mysuru MP, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, alleging that the MP, who was elected on the goodwill associated with Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, had failed to bring even a single major project to the region despite nearly two years having passed since his election.

He accused the MP of failing to ensure the implementation of the Mysuru–Kushalnagar railway line, which has now been scrapped by the Railways as ‘non-viable’. Referring to Mr Yaduveer’s statement that the project was dropped due to the State government, Mr. Lakshmana accused him of misleading the public by blaming the cancellation on alleged non-cooperation by the State government.

He claimed that the State government had already acquired about 1,279 acres of land for the Mysuru–Kushalnagar railway project.

The KPCC spokesperson further alleged that Mr. Yaduveer had stalled other proposed projects, including the Unity Mall in Mysuru and projects under the PRASHAD scheme at Chamundi Hills.