Bengaluru, 6 Nov

BJP on Wednesday ridiculed the Lokayukta police interrogating Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case, saying that it was a "stage-managed questioning" and a "match fixing".

As Siddaramaiah appeared for questioning before the Lokayukta Superintendent of Police TJ Udesh, BJP challenged him to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) if he was honest.

In this case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land "acquired" by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

"Chief Minister today appeared before the Lokayukta police. We all know that the Lokayukta cannot do anything. It’s all stage-managed by him (Siddaramaiah) only to show that he is clean. This doesn’t suit him," BJP senior leader and former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa told reporters here.

He said if Siddaramaiah is really honest he should hand over the case to the CBI.

The Leader of Opposition R Ashoka wondered whether the investigation was "match fixing".

"CM’s tour programme says he would enter the Lokayukta office for interrogation at 10 AM and would proceed for Channapatna at 12 noon. How can he fix time to question him? Is it a match-fixing? How did he know at what time the investigating officer would complete his questioning? How is the investigation happening?" he asked.

Lok Sabha member and former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also flayed Siddaramaiah.

"For the first time in the history of Karnataka, a sitting chief minister is appearing as an accused before the police officer who has worked under him. This has lowered the dignity of the chief ministerial post," he noted.

BJP cadres protested in Mysuru when the chief minister went to the Lokayukta office for questioning. They hit the street with posters, banners and placards. They also raised slogans condemning Siddaramaiah and demanded his resignation. As the agitation intensified, the police took them under preventive custody and released them later. -PTI