Bid to Target Kharge in New Land Scam in Karnataka | J P Gadkari

September 5, 2024

The BJP Government at the Centre appears to have decided to go all out not only in its bid to destabilise the Congress Government in Karnataka, but use the office of Karnataka Governor to attack the Congress leadership at the National level by targetting its national president Mallikarjun Kharge in an alleged new land scam case.

While the hearing on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging the State Governor’s order to prosecute him in the MUDA land allotment case is dragging on and the next date for hearing is set on September Nine, the Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot has sought an explanation from the State Government in a case of land allotment to AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge.

The State Governor has asked Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh of Govt of Karnataka to explain the alleged illegal allotment of five acres of land at Aerospace Park in Bangaluru to a trust run by Kharge’s family.

In the meantime, the State BJP has opened another front targetting the Congress president by alleging allotment of 19 acres of land to an institute run by Kharge’s family trust. The BJP has demanded a probe in it by a independent agency.

In this case BJP Rajya Sabha M P Lahar Singh Siroya from Rajasthan has claimed that in March 2017 Congress Govt led by the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gave 19 acres of government land, free of cost to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Cooperative Philosophy in Kalaburagi which is being run by the Sidhartha Vihara Trust run by Kharge family.

According to Siroya, this transfer included an initial 16 acre lease granted in March 2014 for 20 years. An additional three years was added two years later. In March 2016 all 19 acres were transferred free of cost to the trust which included Kharge’s wife, son-in-law and two sons.
This case has also been referred to the Karnataka Governor for investigation and action.

In response to all these allegations, Minister for Electronics, IT-BT and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Priyank Kharge has accused the Governor of acting against the provisions of the Constitution. He said " whenever a complaint is made against the Congress functionaries, the Governor acts with lightening speed seeking an explanation, while when the complaint is against BJP-JDS combine he goes with the speed of tortoise".

The opposition BJP-JDS combine has been asking the Governor to advise the Chief Minister to sack Priyank Kharge as a Minister with immediate effect.

Meanwhile, there are indications that there may be a change of guard in the State if the Karnataka High Court upholds the Governor’s decision to order prosecution of Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has himself given a hint by saying at a press conference recently that he would abide by the decision of party High Command and party MLAs. Secondly, a few senior leaders of Congress party in the State are openly speaking about their ambition to head the government in the State.