Bengaluru, 25 July

Acrimonious scenes marked proceedings in Legislative Assembly on Thursday with Opposition BJP and JD(S) protesting from the well of House, demanding a discussion on the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), including to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi.

When the House met for the day on Thursday, BJP and JD(S) members trooped into the well of the House, holding placards and shouting slogans. Senior BJP MLA Sunil Kumar said: "Sites were taken in MUDA scam by violating all rules, but you (the Speaker) cite rules (while rejecting our demand for discussion). You don't take up the issue for discussion. Were sites taken following rules?"

As Sunil Kumar and Leader of Opposition R Ashoka accused the government of running away from debate and trying to misuse the Chair for it, Congress MLAs including Ministers HK Patil and Cheluvarayaswamy took strong exception to this, resulting in some argument.

Alleging that it was a case of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore scam, Ashoka sought to know about the Chief Minister meeting the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Wednesday, and asked: "Has the Governor asked for an explanation on the MUDA scam?"

Demand for discussion couldn’t be encouraged: Speaker

After BJP leaders staged a night-long sit-in at Vidhan Soudha protesting against ‘scams’ of Siddaramiah government, Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khadar said on Thursday that the BJP's demand for an urgent discussion on the issue could not be encouraged as it would set a bad precedent for assembly proceedings. Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said BJP has used the ongoing legislative session for their political advantage despite explaining to them why the adjournment motion cannot be taken up.

Siddaramaiah on Thursday termed the alleged scam in MUDA a "non-issue" and charged Opposition BJP and JD(S) with trying to target him personally and tarnish his image. “No illegalities have happened. Everything happened as per law,” the Chief Minister said.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday said the government would soon release a list of MUDA sites illegally allotted by the previous BJP regime. “The media have reported that MUDA sites in question were allotted by BJP two years ago. BJP could have admitted it during the discussion in Assembly session. They are scared that their misdeeds will come out,” he said.

Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said on Thursday that BJP is unnecessarily creating issues that had happened during their tenure, and it is purely a political drama played by them to get people's attention.

Minister for IT/BT Priyank Kharge on Thursday accused the Opposition of diverting the attention of the voters away from the scams of BJP. “BJP is trying to scuttle the discussion on the Devaraj Urs Truck Terminal Board Case in which a BJP MLC has been arrested,’’ he said. —Agencies