Siddaramaiah Questions ED Probe in Muda Case

Bengaluru/New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday questioned the Enforcement Directorate move in slapping a money-laundering case against him, saying that the Muda issue does not attract the provisions of PMLA.

The CM said the Muda case does not amount to money-laundering as his wife B.M. Parvathi had been allotted “compensatory plots” by the Mysore Urban Development Authority in Mysuru city.

“Let them (ED) do whatever they wish as per the law. In my view, I don’t know how this (Muda plot allotment to his wife) amounts to money-laundering,” said the chief minister, and added: “I work as per my conscience.” Asking “what is my role in the entire Muda episode”, the CM said he would fight the ED’s ECIR against him and his family members legally.

On the Opposition’s charge of an admission of guilt by the CM after his wife decided to surrender 14 plots to Muda, Mr Siddaramaiah said returning the plots to Muda by his wife does not amount to any admission of wrongdoing, either by him or his family members.

Moreover, his wife B.M. Parvathi said she decided to give up the plots after she was “pained” when the plot allotments turned into a big controversy. The CM said his wife wanted to put an end to the ongoing controversy over plot allotments and took the decision to surrender the plots allotted to her by Muda.

He explained that 3.16 acres in survey number 464 in Kesare village of Mysuru city was gifted to his wife by her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy and Muda had encroached on her land and distributed plots to the applicants.

After losing the land, he said, his wife, being the owner of the land, sought compensation from Muda for losing property, and Muda accepted her request. “Moreover, my wife did not ask for plots to be allotted in a particular location and Muda distributed her plots in the 3rd and 4th stage of Vijayanagar in Mysuru city”, he added.

Mr Siddaramaiah said the decision to surrender plots by his wife was her own decision and he came to know of it later.

Reacting to the surrender of plots by the CM's wife, state BJP chief B.Y. Vijayendra termed the plot surrender as the first victory of the party against the ruling Congress government and said he would chalk out the future course of action after consulting party leaders.

On Monday, the ED filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR by the police, against the CM over the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by Muda. The ED slapped relevant sections of the PMLA against the CM and others taking cognisance of a recent state Lokayukta FIR.

Mr Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju, from whom Mr Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi, and others have been named in the FIR filed by the Mysuru-based Lokayukta police establishment on September 27.

The FIR was lodged after a special court in Bengaluru last week ordered a Lokayukta police probe against the CM. The special court judge’s order came a day after the high court upheld the sanction by governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against the senior Congress leader on allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by Muda.

According to procedure, the ED is empowered to summon the accused for questioning and even attach their assets during the investigation. The CM has also ruled out the possibility of his resignation over the Muda case.