CM has no role in tree felling case: Cong slams Mysuru MP

The Congress on Monday hit out at Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha for making what the ruling party called “baseless” allegations against chief minister Siddaramaiah following the arrest of the MP’s brother, Vikram Simha

Bengaluru: The Congress on Monday hit out at Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha for making what the ruling party called “baseless” allegations against chief minister Siddaramaiah following the arrest of the MP’s brother, Vikram Simha, in a tree felling case in Belur taluk.

The Karnataka unit of Congress hits out at Mysuru MP Pratap Simha over his allegations on chief minister Siddaramaiah’s role in tree felling case. (HT photo)

During a press conference, Karnataka Congress unit spokesperson M Lakshmana said that Vikram had entered into a one-month agreement with landowners Jayamma and her younger brother Anand for growing ginger in 3.16 acres of land in a village of Belur taluk in Hassan district. “I want to know whether it is possible to grow ginger in a month. Besides, the MP’s family has no history of growing ginger in the vicinity of their hometown in Sakaleshpur taluk,” he said.

Lakshmana dismissed Pratap Simha’s accusations that the arrest was part of a political move to facilitate chief minister Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra’s election from the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency.

The KPCC spokesperson claimed that Yathindra’s name was not among the 14 people who had submitted applications for the Congress ticket during a recent meeting. “Yathindra had explicitly said that he is not interested in contesting from Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency. Siddaramaiah had also made this clear,” he said.

Lakshmana accused Pratap Simha of making “unfounded statements” against the chief minister due to his frustration over uncertainty regarding the BJP renominating him for the Lok Sabha elections.

He said Siddaramaiah had not interfered in the illegal tree felling case in Belur, though he had the authority to do so as the chief minister. Lakshmana accused Pratap Simha of attempting to divert public attention, after facing criticism for issuing pass to an accused involved in Parliament security breach on December 13, by unnecessarily bringing the chief minister into the picture.

The Congress leader alleged that Vikram had a history of criminal activities, including gambling and assault cases. Lakshmana also questioned the motives behind the short-term agreement between Vikram and the landowners, raising suspicions about the cultivation of ginger within the stipulated time frame. He accused Vikram of cutting high-value trees not only from the contracted land but also from surrounding forest areas for export to foreign countries.

Pratap Simha was not immediately available to respond to the allegations levelled by the Congress.

Vikram, who was arrested by forest officers in Hassan on Saturday over the illegal felling of trees in Hassan district, was released on Sunday. He was produced before the senior civil judge in Belur, where he secured bail, officials said.

According to forest officials, Vikram Simha leased land in survey number 16 of Nandagondanahalli and was involved in the illegal felling of 126 trees. The officials registered a first information report (FIR) on December 16 after Belur tehsildar Mamatha, who visited the spot, alerted them about the tree felling. Officials have filed a case against landowners Jayamma and Rakesh Shetty and are currently investigating.

On December 28, the state government suspended Hassan deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Mohan Kumar, assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Prabhu Gowda, range forest officer (RFO) Vinay Kumar, deputy RFO Gururaj, and staff member Raghuraj on charges of failing to detect illegal tree felling.