Mysuru, Aug 10 : Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday said that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land case took place under the nose of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.





'MUDA land case is not about allotment of only 14 sites. By justifying land allotments, an attempt is being made to cover up the Rs 5,000 crore scam which had taken place in the MUDA in the past 15 months,' the Union Minister said while addressing a gathering in Mysuru at the concluding ceremony of padyatra.



He said that the land does not belong to the original owner Ninga or his son Devaraju, adding that it was the property of the Karnataka government.



'In 1997, 1998 and 2000, the land was converted into sites and they were also distributed. It was the property of the MUDA and how come Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law made the purchase of this land? He also claims that it was agricultural land which was converted. How did the Deputy Commissioner (DC) not make a spot visit then? Everything had taken place under your nose,' Kumaraswamy said.



He added that Siddaramaiah after committing the crime, wants Rs 62 crore compensation and claims that he will return the sites.



He said that Congress has set a new trend by posing questions to the opposition, adding that Siddaramaiah often claims that he represents backward classes. "He does not represent one section of the society but he represents 6.5 crore people of the state."



'We respect his wife on whose name the sites in question are allotted by the MUDA. We are not bothered whether 14 or 40 sites are allotted. The question is whose land it is'? Kumaraswamy said.



He said that the leaders within the Congress government are in competition. 'We all know about the Arkavathy de-notification and re-do scam. Let the Kempanna Commission report come out, it is also a known fact that you have allotted a lab to your son,' he said.



He added that the Central government had allocated Rs 1.5 lakh trillion for states in the country recently for capital expenditure.



'He does not know how to run the state-centre relationship. He sits with INDIA bloc partner DMK and convinces them to build a dam in Tamil Nadu. The Toyota Company is also shifting from Bidadi in Bengaluru to Maharashtra,' he said.



/IANS