A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state unit President BS Yeddyurappa moved the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash corruption charges against him, the party on Sunday staged protests in Bengaluru, reported The Hindu. BJP workers accused Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of indulging in “vendetta politics” and using the Anti-Corruption Bureau for personal gain.
Yeddyurappa is accused of denotifying 257 acres of a 3,546-acre plot meant for the Dr Shivarama Karanth Layout when he was the chief minister of Karnataka between May 2008 and July 2011. The land was then allegedly sold at higher prices to private parties. The ACB has been pursuing the case against Yeddyurappa since a member of a social organisation, Jana Samanya Vedike, filed a complaint in the matter.
On Saturday, Yeddyurappa filed a petition at the Karnataka High Court after the ACB summoned him for questioning. He has alleged that the Congress government in the state was using the agency to target Opposition leaders in retaliation to the recent Income Tax raids conducted at Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar’s properties, PTI reported.
“Since the Honourable Karnataka High Court/Divisional bench has completely quashed the entire Dr Shivarama Karanth Layout plan itself, the government directive to drop land from primary notification is irrelevant,” the BJP said in a statement on Sunday, according to NDTV. “It will be clear without doubt that the complaint filed by the complainant is politically motivated and malice, hiding true facts and only intended to bring disgrace and extracting political benefits.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!