Bengaluru, Jul 30 (PTI) Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday said the ruling Congress has planned to organise public meetings to counter the opposition BJP-JD(S)’ foot march over the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam.
The two opposition parties have decided to hold a foot march from Bengaluru to Mysuru from August 3 to 10 in protest against the alleged fraudulent allotment of sites to land losers by MUDA, including to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, and demanding his resignation.
Reiterating that the police will not give permission to the foot march, but also won’t stop them, the Minister, however. warned action against any activities in violation of law.
Parameshwara, who met Siddaramaiah on Monday night ahead of his Delhi visit today, accused the opposition of indulging in “false propaganda and spreading information that is far from truth.” “We (Congress) will also make efforts to inform the people as to what the truth is. We will inform truth to the people a day before they start spreading lies, we will inform the people whether it is in Mandya, Bidadi, Ramanagara, Mysuru — as to what the truth is by organising meetings (on August 2).” With police permission denied for the foot march, BJP state President B Y Vijayendra on Tuesday said the opposition will not be cowed down. “… If they (govt) trY to suppress it, it will reach some level that is unimaginable. This government cannot stop us.” Reacting to a question on this, Parameshwara said: “Let’s see what happens. If they threaten the government, is the government weak? Is the Karnataka government so weak? I have said that we will not give them the permission, but we will also not stop them.” “It is their right to protest, let them do it, but if anything is done in violation of law, naturally the police will do their duty to protect the law. I’m not saying that they will violate the law. In case such things happen we will do our duty to protect the law. There is no need for them to threaten us or for us to threaten them,” he said.
Asked if members of the opposition will be arrested or booked for holding ‘padayatre’ (foot march) without permission, the Minister said: “Let them do their ‘padayatre,’ didn’t we do it when they (BJP govt) did not give permission to us earlier? We will not do such things (book cases or arrest), we will file FIR in case they violate law, if not why should we do it? no one will do it unnecessarily.” Denying any wrong doing, the Chief Minister has said MUDA had legally allotted 14 residential sites to his wife in lieu of illegally acquiring her land.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where MUDA developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
BJP leaders have claimed that the MUDA “scam” is of the magnitude of Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore.
The Congress government on July 14 constituted a single member inquiry commission under former High Court Judge Justice P N Desai to probe the MUDA ‘scam’. PTI KSU RS RS
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