A day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, offered to surrender 14 plots of land to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), the case continues to draw attention. MUDA Commissioner AN Raghunandan confirmed that his office has received a formal letter of surrender and stated that legal counsel would be sought before proceeding further.
“I have received the letter from CM Siddaramaiah’s wife regarding the return of the 14 sites. CM’s son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah, came to our office and submitted the letter. They have voluntarily requested us to take back the sites,” Raghunandan informed reporters on Tuesday. He added that the matter is currently under investigation, and the authority will fully cooperate with the Lokayukta police.
“Since the case is under investigation, we will take legal advice before making any decision. The Lokayukta police have asked for some documents, which we will provide. No documents have been requested from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), but we will fully cooperate in the investigation,” Raghunandan stated.
The case took a new turn after the Enforcement Directorate filed a case against Siddaramaiah, alleging money laundering linked to the controversial land allotment by MUDA. Following this, his wife offered to surrender the plots, reportedly worth Rs 56 crore.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, facing mounting political and legal pressure, has firmly denied any wrongdoing. He adopted a defiant tone regarding the allegations, refusing to step down from his position.
“I will not give my resignation as a self-witness. Whether ED or anything else, I will fight it out legally,” he said, reiterating that he had no role in the land allotment process.
The Karnataka CM also sought to differentiate his case from that of former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, who had faced allegations of land denotification. “BS Yeddyurappa’s case and mine are different. He was involved in denotification of land, but I am not,” Siddaramaiah said.
According to Siddaramaiah, the land in question had been gifted to his wife by her brother, but MUDA had allegedly encroached upon it. He clarified that while his wife had requested an alternative site, she had not specified the location, yet one in Vijayanagara was allotted to her. He stressed that the current controversy had political motivations and had nothing to do with money laundering allegations.
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