CM Siddaramaiah in serious predicament in MUDA case, Governor gives permission to prosecute
Three acres and 16 guntas of land belonging to the Chief Minister's wife have been allegedly acquired by MUDA. In return, 14 plots of land in expensive areas have been allotted to her.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is in serious predicament in the MUDA case. The BJP has opened a front against him and now the Governor has also given permission to prosecute the CM in the MUDA case. Governor Thawarchand Gehlot had recently sought the Cabinet's opinion to prosecute the Chief Minister in the MUDA (Mysore Urban Development Authority) land scam allegations. As a result, a Council of Ministers meeting was held on Thursday which recommended the Governor to withdraw the request for comment. The Council of Ministers also termed this as an attempt to destabilise a government elected by a majority.
The Governor had given permission for the prosecution after consultation with legal experts.
The Governor, however, sought the opinion of legal experts in this regard. The Governor then gave permission to prosecute the Chief Minister. In the case, the plaintiffs in the Muda suit had sought permission to prosecute the Chief Minister under Sections 17 and 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Indian Civil Defence Act, 2023. Several other complainants, including anti-corruption activist TJ Abraham, have alleged that illegal allocations in the Muda scandal have caused a loss of Rs 450 crore to the state exchequer. The complaint sought criminal prosecution of CM Siddaramaiah, his wife, son and the Muda chairman.
What is the Muda corruption case?
The Mysore Urban Development Authority or Muda is the state development authority of Karnataka. The mandate of this authority is to promote urban development and develop quality infrastructure. It also has to provide affordable housing to the people. Muda had developed a program for people who lost land during urban development. Called 50:50, the program gave people who lost land the right to 50% of the developed land. The program was first implemented in 2009. It was closed in 2020 under the then Bharatiya Janata Party government.
