BJP accuses Rahul Gandhi of corruption in MUDA land scam controversy

Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Monday alleged that Rahul Gandhi has benefitted from corruption in Karnataka.

His statement came after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's family decided to return a five-acre land allotted to a trust run by his son, Rahul Kharge.

"The Karnataka Congress government is only focused on corruption, on taking land from the poor and filling the coffers of their family members...Both Mallikarjun Kharge and Siddaramaiah consider Rahul Gandhi as their mentor. So, was Rahul Gandhi a corruption mentor to both of them? It is proven that the Karnataka Congress Government is the most corrupt government to date and Rahul Gandhi was a beneficiary of the corruption happening in Karnataka," he said.

 

Bhandari also said that Mallikarjun Kharge has admitted that he abused his official position to provide alleged benefits to his family members after his family decided to return a five-acre land allotted to a trust run by his son.

"Mallikarjun Kharge has admitted that he abused his official position to provide alleged benefits to his family members. It is proven that the modus operandi that Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has used in the MUDA scam to provide benefits to his family members is similar to the one used by Mallikarjun Kharge in the KIADB land issue," Bhandari said.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal termed Mallikarjun Kharge's family's decision to return five-acre land allotted to a trust run by his son Rahul Kharge as an indication of a possible fraud and demanded the matter be investigated.

"This clearly shows that there was some fraud in the land that was allotted and after the fraud came to light, they are returning the land. This raises a big question and the matter should be investigated," Khandelwal told ANI.

Recently, after the ED booked the Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah for money laundering in a case linked to the alleged MUDA land allotment scam, his wife wrote to the MUDA Commissioner, offering to surrender the 14 plots that were allotted to her by the authority.

The Mysuru Lokayukta officially initiated an inquiry and investigation into the case following a September 27 court order to file an FIR. The Lokayukta was directed to investigate allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites worth Rs 56 crore to Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi, by MUDA. It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Siddaramaiah's wife in the prime location of Mysuru city.