Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Prepares for Assembly Session Amid MUDA Controversy
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], July 14: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with key officials on Sunday ahead of the Assembly session starting on Monday. He emphasized the importance of ministers being well-prepared to address departmental issues and to attend the session in person.
The Chief Minister gathered detailed insights from departmental secretaries on possible discussion topics and instructed them to compile relevant supportive data. He stressed that all secretaries and heads of departments must attend the session without fail and assist their ministers in replying to the discussions. Additionally, he said that he would step in if necessary.
Senior officials, including Chief Secretary Rajneesh Goel and Deputy Chief Secretary LK Ateeq, were also present at the meeting. In the nine-day session, the Opposition is likely to raise many issues, including Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allocation “irregularities.”
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and MP Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday demanded a CBI probe into the MUDA issue. Speaking to the reporters on Saturday, he said, “If there was no scandal in the MUDA site allocations and no truth to the allegations, such a major controversy would not have come to the fore. Why should there be any hesitation in investigation through an independent agency if there is nothing to hide?”
Bommai further said, “There was a difference between an inquiry and an investigation. The MUDA scam should be subjected to a thorough investigation. Let there be a complete inquiry into which exchange sites are in MUDA, under what circumstances, and to whom the sites were allocated. The case should be handed over to the CBI.”
