Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued notices to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B.M. Parvathi and Minister Byrathi Suresh in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam due to political conspiracy, said Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Speaking to the media near his residence in Sadashivanagar in Bengaluru on Monday, Shivakumar responded to questions regarding the matter.
When asked about the ED notice issued to the CM’s wife and Minister Byrathi Suresh, he said, “The same happened in my case as well. It is not possible for two agencies to investigate the same case simultaneously. The Lokayukta is already conducting an investigation. Courts have repeatedly ruled that when the Lokayukta is investigating, other agencies cannot intervene. I will comment further after gathering complete information on the matter.”
Regarding demands for a CBI investigation into the MUDA case, he added, “In my case too, both the CBI and ED were investigating simultaneously. Two agencies can not investigate the same case together. I have already referred to court rulings on this issue in my case.”
When asked about statements by ministers regarding the CM’s position, Shivakumar said, “No one has made such statements. The government is stable, and all of us are working under the leadership of the CM Siddaramaiah.”
The Enforcement Directorate has issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B.M. Parvathi, the second accused in the MUDA scam. The notice has also been issued to the Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, a close confidante of CM Siddaramaiah.
Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi has been directed to appear before the ED officials on January 28 (Tuesday).
Meanwhile, the CM’s wife, Parvathi, and Minister Suresh have approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the summons issued to them by the ED on separate petitions. The counsel for Parvathi requested the High Court bench to take up the petition on an emergency basis. Considering the request, the court has agreed to take up the petition by Monday.
The High Court has also taken up the hearing of a petition seeking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the MUDA scam.
CM Siddaramaiah is accused number one in the MUDA case and the investigation is also being conducted against others who got the illegal allotments done through the MUDA.
ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Lokayuktha Police Mysuru under various sections of IPC, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Siddaramaiah and others.
It is alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to get compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife B.M. Parvathi in lieu of three acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by the MUDA.
The land was originally acquired by MUDA for Rs 3.24 lakh. The compensation in the form of 14 sites at the posh Vijayanagar locality in Mysuru is worth approximately Rs 56 crore.
The ED said it has also been revealed that money was routed through a cooperative society for the purchase of property, luxury vehicles, etc., in the name of relatives of G.T. Dinesh Kumar, who was the previous commissioner of MUDA.
Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had outrightly rejected the allegations of illegal allotment. His wife Parvathi had returned the allotted 14 sites to the MUDA.
(IANS)
