NEW DELHI: Parvathi Siddaramaiah, wife of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, has written to the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) offering to surrender 14 compensation plots allotted to her amid ongoing land allotment controversy.
In her letter, Parvathi said, “I wish to surrender and return the compensation plots by cancelling the deeds of 14 plots executed in my favour by the Mysore Urban Development Authority.I am also handing over the possession of the plots back to the Mysore Urban Development Authority. Kindly take necessary steps in this regard as soon as possible.”
This development comes in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) booking CM Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, and others in a money laundering case linked to the MUDA land case, following a recent Lokayukta FIR.
The Congress has hit back at the Centre, accusing it of using central agencies like the ED for political harassment. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh commented, “It is no secret that the ED has become an instrument of harassment, vendetta, revenge, and vengeance on His political opponents by the non-biological PM.” Ramesh also accused the ruling party of targeting Siddaramaiah after their electoral defeat in Karnataka in May 2023. “We have nothing to fear. The CM of Karnataka will be vindicated,” Ramesh added.
The ED’s case is based on allegations that the compensatory plots were allotted to Parvathi in a prime location in Mysuru, raising questions over the legality of the transactions. The FIR also named other family members, including Parvathi’s brother Mallikarjuna Swamy, who had purchased the land and later gifted it to her.
Siddaramaiah has defended his actions, saying that the opposition is targeting him out of fear and vowed to fight the case legally. “I have done no wrong,” the CM had said earlier, reiterating that he would not resign over the matter.
The case has intensified following a special court’s order for a probe, upheld by the Karnataka high court, into the alleged illegalities surrounding the allotment of these sites. The ED is expected to summon the accused and may attach their assets as part of the investigation.