Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with his wife B M Parvathi, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and former landowner Devaraju, have been named in an FIR filed by the Lokayukta police on charges of corruption, cheating, and forgery related to the allotment of 14 Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) housing sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife in 2021. The FIR was lodged following a complaint by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna, which was referred to the Lokayukta by a special court for elected representatives on September 25.
This development comes after the Karnataka High Court upheld the approval granted by Governor Thawarchand Gehlot, allowing private individuals to file corruption cases against the CM. The FIR includes charges under various sections of the IPC, the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act. The alleged illegal land exchange, which dates back to 1968, reportedly caused a loss of ₹56 crore to the state. The case revolves around the exchange of 3.16 acres of land outside Mysuru, gifted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in 2010, for 14 prime housing plots in Mysuru under a scheme introduced during the BJP regime.
The opposition BJP has since demanded Siddaramaiah’s resignation, while the CM remains defiant, claiming that the case is politically motivated. Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge has also voiced his support, accusing the opposition of using the MUDA case to damage both Siddaramaiah’s and the Congress party’s image. The complainants, including RTI activist Krishna, plan to seek a CBI investigation into the matter.
