In a significant development in the case of land allotments by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), its chairman and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s confidant K Marigowda tendered his resignation on Wednesday, October 16.
Marigowda submitted his resignation to the Secretary of the Urban Development Department Deepa Cholan in Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru.
The state government official resigned reportedly as per the instructions from Siddaramaiah.
According to reports, before tendering his resignation, Marigowda met the Chief Minister at his Cauvery residence and held a brief meeting with him.
Interacting with media persons after resigning, Marigowda said, “I have resigned as my health is not good. The MUDA investigation is going on and let that continue. I won’t comment on whether it is a scam or not. The investigation is underway and the truth will come out.”
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He claimed that there was no pressure on him to resign.
“CM Siddaramaiah is our leader and we have been together for 40 years. He had made me President of taluk and zilla panchayats. CM Siddaramaiah has never asked us to indulge in illegalities. In MUDA matter also, the CM has not exerted any pressure,” he clarified.
“I have suffered a stroke two times. I am not healthy. I have resigned citing my inability to continue in the post. It is also not true that the Minister for Urban Development Byrathi Suresh has pressured me to resign,” Marigowda added.
Significant developments in the case
The MUDA case involves allegations that the authority “illegally” allotted 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, in an upscale area of Mysuru city.
Taking to X, CM Siddaramaiah, himself confirmed the development stating that his wife has taken a decision to return the 14 plots given by MUDA.
He, however, had claimed ‘no wrongdoing’ in the land allotment saying that he too was surprised by his wife’s decision.
The Congress leader blamed ‘hate politics’ as the reason why his wife returned the plots.
Interestingly, the development came soon after the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case against her husband, Siddaramaiah.
Pertinent to note that the allegations in the MUDA scam case also revolved around the allotment of these 14 plots to the Chief Minister’s family with the opposition saying that the plots were ‘illegally” allotted to the Chief Minister’s family.
CM Siddaramaiah claims scam allegations against him are ‘false’
Claiming that he did nothing wrong and the case against him in the MUDA scam is ‘false’, CM Siddaramaiah alleged that his family was being targeted. He also turned down BJP’s demand that he should quit in the wake of these developments.
On Tuesday, addressing reporters, Siddaramaiah fumed, “Why should I resign when I have done nothing wrong?” He also claimed that the opposition does not have proof against him.
On 30th September, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was booked by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. The CM, his wife and others are facing money laundering allegations in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case, following an FIR registered against him by the Karnataka Lokayukta police.
The FIR, filed by the Lokayukta’s Mysuru unit, stemmed from a complaint by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna. Besides Siddaramaiah, the FIR also named his wife B M Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and a former landowner named Devaraju.