BJP Leaders’ Standoff Against Corruption Allegations in Karnataka

The BJP leaders attempted to lay siege to the chief minister’s office-cum-residence in Karnataka, accusing the ruling Congress government of widespread corruption. However, due to heavy police deployment, they were prevented from reaching their destination and were taken into preventive custody. The party leaders, accompanied by several MLAs and party workers, alleged a Rs 4,000 crore alternative sites (plots) scam in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), implicating Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi as one of the beneficiaries. Additionally, they charged that there were efforts to cover up a Rs 180 crore Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation scam, which led to the suicide of an accounts superintendent. Speaking to reporters before being taken into custody, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra stated, “There is rampant corruption within the Congress government. The MUDA scam in the chief minister’s home district Mysuru is much bigger than the Valmiki Corporation scam.” Leader of Opposition R Ashoka demanded that the government hand over the MUDA scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) instead of assigning the case to a panel of IAS officers for investigation.