BJP digs up dirt on Karnataka CM's son, Siddaramaiah says will sue

Bengaluru: The state BJP on Saturday released documents, which it claimed  showed  that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son, Dr S Yatindra had illegally acquired two acres and 19.72 guntas of land near the Hebbal flyover in the city from the BDA in connivance with  his partner, Rajesh Gowda, in the firm, Matrix Imaging Solutions India Private Limited.

Former minister, B.J. Puttaswamy, who released the voluminous documents ,  said the case dated back to 1975, when a private firm, Shantha Industrial Enterprises, owned by one Mr G K Srinivasa and his wife, Shantha,  gave up  26 acres and 25 guntas of land to the BDA for its Mahalakshmi Layout. The company received a compensation of Rs 29,09, 335  through a cheque on March 3, 1987.  But after Mr. Rajesh Gowda became a partner in the firm and also set up Matrix Imaging Solution, he began proceedings for an alternative site, although there is no provision for giving one if the original site has been acquired for a residential layout, he claimed.  

“Mr Rajesh Gowda became a partner in Shantha Industrial Enterprises in 2010 and four years later established the Matrix Imaging Solutions India Private Limited. Dr Yatindra later became a partner of this firm and together they began to ask for an alternative site,” Mr Puttaswamy charged, adding that the BDA at first refused to give the  alternative site as it had already paid the firm the compensation due to it . The Special Land Acquisition officer too wrote a note dated February 19, 2014 saying there was no provision to give an alternative site to the duo. 

“But ignoring the note of the officer, the BDA later allotted an alternative site to Mr. Rajesh Gowda in Hebbal. This shows that the Chief Minister was directly involved in allotting the land to Rajesh Gowda to help his son,” the BJP leader alleged, daring Mr Siddaramaiah  to file a defamation case against him.

“I am ready to face the case. I will in turn file a case before the ACB, and also consider filing one before the Lokayukta and a court,”  he said.