“Voluntary surrender” of scam-tainted plots deepens Land-grabbing charges against Karnataka Congress

The Congress party, especially its Karnataka unit, has landed itself in major soup as the developments in the Land scam row have caused major embarrassment for the grand old party. In recent months, several Congress leaders along with their family members have been hit by back-to-back Land scam allegations. While the Congress leaders and their kins have hailed themselves for “voluntarily surrendering land parcels”, it has sharpened the BJP’s line of attack against them and has garnered them major public embarrassment. 

Interestingly, the return of scam-tainted lands has deepened troubles for the Congres party as it has only intensified and furthered the severity of these allegations. Additionally, BJP and netizens have sharpened their attack saying that the return of the land parcels is nothing but an “admission of their guilt” and that it doesn’t absolve their accountability from the alleged crime or prove their innocence. 

Land scams outpace Congress’ diffusion tactics

It is pertinent to note that several land scams allegedly involving senior Congress leaders, state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Cabinet Ministers Priyanka Kharge, and their family members have rocked the state polity. CM Siddaramaiah himself is currently facing a probe in the MUDA scam case. 

The son of Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Kharge is the chairperson of Siddhartha Vihar Trust. Strikingly, the tainted trust is run and managed by the family members of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. 

The trust, which incidentally has several other members of the Kharge family, had sought land to set up a ‘Multi-Skill Development Centre, Training Institutes and Research Centre’. On 12th February 2024, it submitted a proposal to the KIADB and within a short span of around a month the proposal was approved. 

However, on 20th September, Rahul Kharge wrote a letter to the Chief Executive officer of the Karnataka Industrial Development Board (KIADB). 

He wrote, “Withdrawal of our request for Civic Amenity site to set up Multi Skill Development Centre, Training Institutes and a Research Centre.” 

The development follows the decision of Parvathi, the wife of CM Siddaramaiah who returned all the 14 scam-tainted plots to the regional development authority, a day after her husband was booked by the Enforcement Directorate in the MUDA scam case. 

While the ‘surrender’ move aimed to defuse tensions, it has, on the contrary, deepened the crisis for the Congress party. Taking to X, BJP Karnataka shared the letter written by Kharge’s son adding that the family has looted the state for 50 years. 

The post read, “After being caught red-handed, the Kharge family has been forced to return the 5-acre CA site that was illegally grabbed under the Siddhartha Vihar Trust. By doing so, Priyank Kharge has admitted to the wrongdoing! The Kharge family has looted Karnataka for 50 years. Junior Kharge, alias Troll Minister, should resign for this scam and betrayal of the people of Karnataka.” 

It has also demanded the resignation of Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge to ensure an unbiased inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the allotment of land parcels.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Lahar Singh Siroya who initially raised the scam allegations against Congress leaders, said, “How can the Kharge family acquire and surrender government lands at will? Why is the government accepting their offer to ‘surrender’ land before investigations are complete?”

Additionally, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that these decisions were triggered by adverse CAG reports and legal proceedings, and amounted to a virtual admission that the transactions were wrong. 

He added that it was done to escape humiliation in legal proceedings.

He further stated that a party, which was once associated with Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave’s “bhu daan” (giving land in charity), is now neck deep in “bhu harap” (land grab) under the “inspiration” of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

The saffron party has accused the entire top leadership of the Congress party of being involved in corruption related to land transactions and demanded their resignation on moral grounds.

Trivedi also mentioned corruption cases against the Gandhis and Robert Vadra. He added that such allegations involving land were also levelled against Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, both former chief ministers, and DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka deputy chief minister, among others.

Mallikarjun Kharge hit by embezzlement allegations

Adding further woes for the Karnataka Congress, a man deposing before the parliamentary committee holding discussions on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, revealed that Mallikarjun Kharge was involved in Waqf land scams.

The man deposing before the committee was Anwar Manippady. He is a former chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission and Karnataka Minorities Development Corporation and also a former Karnataka BJP vice-president.

Before the parliamentary committee, he named several Karnataka Congress leaders including Kharge and Rehman Khan, and others, and accused them of being involved in embezzling Waqf properties. 

Incidentally, the Karnataka Congress had claimed that it won the state assembly elections on the promise of good governance and corruption-free government. However, if the legal troubles for the Congress leaders deepen further, it could end up suffering the same fate as UPA 2.0 which was marred with one scam after another, a tenure that earned Congress and its alliance the notoriety for giving corrupt governance.