Bengaluru, 24 July

Karnataka BJP on Wednesday launched a "day-and-night" dharna in both Legislative Assembly and Council over not allowing discussion regarding the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), which involves plots given to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.

The discussion on the allotment of sites generated heat in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday as Speaker UT Khader rejected the Opposition's adjournment motion notice on the matter.

The discussion on these allotments heated up the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday as Speaker UT Khader rejected the Opposition's adjournment motion notice on the matter. The ruling Congress, citing rules, urged the Speaker not to allow the discussion. The Opposition BJP, however, claimed a needle of suspicion pointed to the family of the "most important person" in the State and demanded the discussion be allowed. They also alleged a political motive behind the formation of an inquiry commission, suggesting it aimed to deny the House an opportunity to debate the issue.

"After hearing both sides, as the adjournment notice that the Opposition has given is not an urgent matter and as an inquiry commission has been constituted under a retired judge to probe the charges, also as the matter is also not of immediate occurrence, it has been rejected," the Speaker ruled. The legislature session is slated to end on Friday.

The Opposition was infuriated by the refusal to allow the discussion. "Congress has 136 MLAs. When we brought an adjournment motion regarding the Rs 4,000 crore loot in the MUDA scam, the government was scared and ran away from the discussion. They have passed key bills, including the finance bill, without discussion. This government is cowardly; they don't have the courage to respond to MUDA allegations in the House," said Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, R Ashoka.

Ashoka said if the government had any "shame or self-esteem," they should have said on the floor of the House that Siddaramaiah had taken 14 sites in a legal manner, and so did his supporters. “It is a Rs 4,000 crore scam. More than one lakh square feet of land that belonged to Dalits has been looted…Condemning the conduct of the ruling party and the Speaker of suppressing the Opposition voice, all our MLAs and MLCs will protest day and night against this government," he added.

State BJP President and MLA BY Vijayendra too said both in the Legislative Assembly and Council "We will do overnight protest to ensure that injustice is not done to Dalits, sites given to Chief Minister's family are taken back and also over 5,000 sites that were illegally allocated." -PTI