MUDA case: Siddaramaiah refuses to resign as Karnataka CM, says, 'will not...'

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday reiterated that he will not resign over the alleged MUDA land allotment scam. He said that the opposition is making the demand for his resignation in order to destabilise his government.

"I will not resign. HD Kumaraswamy is a minister; he is on bail after an FIR was lodged against him. He is a minister in the Narendra Modi government. It's a politics by them to destabilise our government; that is why they are doing it," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

"They tried Operation Lotus, but they failed because we are 136 legislators. They formed government without a mandate twice; did Yediyurappa win? We will fight it legally," he added.

Senior Minister in the Siddarmaiah government Priyank Kharge challenged the BJP to provide evidence or proof if they have any of any alleged corruption in the MUDA case.

"The CM is very clear that he's open to investigation. And we have also set up an SIT with one retired judge at the helm of affairs. BJP is more than free to give any documents of any nature to them. And now that the Lokayukta is also in the loop, they are free to do that too. Instead of talking to the media, let them give all the documents that they have to the investigative agencies," he said.

However, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said on Friday that the chief minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, has accepted his guilt of widespread corruption in the MUDA scam.

"The CM of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, has admitted that there is prima facie corruption in the MUDA scam. He has admitted that he is guilty. This is the precise reason that he has revoked the general consent given to CBI... The Karnataka HC concluded that the CM was involved in giving an undue benefit of Rs. 55 crores to his family in the MUDA scam... The CM of Karnataka is a corrupt man. To save his corruption, he wants to ensure that no independent agency investigates the matter. The root of the problem is Rahul Gandhi because he promotes the individuals in Congress who are involved in corruption... Rahul Gandhi's Congress is the king of corruption," he said.

On Wednesday, the Special Court in Bengaluru passed an order directing Karnataka Lokyukta to conduct an investigation against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the allegation of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites worth Rs 56 crore to his wife Parvathi by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). The order came after Karnataka High Court upheld the Governor's sanction to investigate Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scam.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)