The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday petitioned the Karnataka Governor seeking the dismissal from Cabinet of Minister Priyank Kharge over the alleged allotment of a land to a trust run by his family including his father and Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge.
Alleging “nepotism”, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Council Chalavadi T Narayanaswamy claimed that it is a case of criminal breach of trust from the Kharges towards the fellow Schedule Caste entrepreneurs.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah defended the land allotment and said it has been done in accordance with law.
Priyank Kharge, who is the Minister for Electronics, IT/BT and Rural Development & Panchayat Raj in the Congress government, asserted that there was no illegality, and accused the BJP of trying to indulge in politics by complaining to the Governor.
“With utmost pain I bring to your kind knowledge another case of nepotism of the Karnataka Government,” Narayanaswamy said in a letter submitted to the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot during his meeting with him.
Siddhartha Vihar Trust is being reportedly allotted five acres of land under the SC Quota by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) in the Hitech Defence Aerospace Park near Bengaluru out of the 45.94 acres meant for civic amenities (CA) in March 2024, he said.
Interestingly, the trustees of the Trust include Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife Radhabai, son and Minister Priyank Kharge, MP and son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, and younger son Rahul Kharge, he further noted.
Questioning how the Kharges became aerospace entrepreneurs, he said: “How did the department give a nod for this allotment? Was the minister (Industries) compelled to allot the land by the Chief Minister?”
He urged the Governor to take cognisance of the seriousness of the matter and dismiss Priyank Kharge from the Cabinet for “snatching away yet another opportunity from the deserving SC Entrepreneurs”.
“...it is a case of criminal breach of trust from the Kharges towards the fellow Schedule Caste entrepreneurs and I am of the opinion that this amounts to the breach of oath taken as the minister in the Karnataka Government,” he added.
BJP leader and Member of Rajya Sabha Lahar Singh Siroya too on Sunday raised questions on the alleged allocation of KIADB land to the trust run by the Kharge family, and asked when did they become aerospace entrepreneurs to be eligible for the land.
He had also sought to know whether the case was about misuse of power, nepotism, and conflict of interest.
Reacting to Siroya’s statement, Priyank Kharge on Monday said the site allotted is not an industrial plot meant for industrial or commercial purposes, and it is for educational purposes.
Stating that the intention of the trust is to set up a multi skill development centre in the CA site, he asked, “Is it wrong?”
“There is no subsidy or subsidised rates for civic amenity plots allotted to SC/ST organisations. The trustees have a background of establishing and managing good quality and affordable education institutions,” he added.
Speaking to reporters today, Priyank Kharge said BJP “lacks basic common sense” that CA sites are not allotted or auctioned; they have to be purchased as per KIADB and government guidelines.
For 193 sites, applications were invited and only 43 organisations had applied, he said. “So the allegations of nepotism, influence are baseless”.
Questioning the earlier BJP governments allotting lands to Prerana trust, Chanakya University and Rashtrotthana, among others, he said: “Here we are purchasing CA site, we have not sought any subsidy or deferred payment or anything illegal. What is illegal in this, I don’t understand. Just by taking the Chief Minister’s name and Mallikarjun Kharge’s name and complaining to the Governor, you (BJP) are doing politics.”
Asked about allegations regarding the land allotment, Siddaramaiah said “It has been done in accordance with law. Their trust is eligible, so we have done it.”
“How did the BJP (while in power) allot the land for Chanakya University? We have done it in accordance with law,” the Chief Minister said.
Earlier today, speaking to reporters before meeting the Governor, Narayanaswamy said: “It is clear to the naked eye that the land has been given to prominent and influential people.”
Alleging that the site was allotted to Kharges rejecting other applications, he said: “The site has been allocated to prominent and influential people, and this has led to suspicion. The trust here consists of family members, it is not a public trust. The trust is registered in Kalaburagi for the sake of ‘Buddha Vihara’, it is a religious trust, but you (Kharges) have sought it for R&D, that too at Aerospace Park, what is the relationship,” he said.
Also stating that it is a clear case of nepotism, Narayanaswamy said: “This is a family trust....also a Minister cannot be a Director in it (trust), if he is there it is nepotism, and it is clear that influence was used to obtain the land. So his (Priyank Kharge) resignation has to be sought immediately, this is another MUDA (alleged scam in which Siddaramaiah is facing heat).”
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