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CM questions ED filing PMLA case against him
CM Siddaramaiah argued that the allegations surrounding the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment do not warrant such severe action
Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday questioned the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) decision to file a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against him, arguing that the allegations surrounding the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment do not warrant such severe action.
Speaking to reporters, Siddaramaiah questioned the ED’s reasoning for registering a case and said that the land allocation issue involving his wife, Parvathi BM, does not constitute money laundering.
“I don’t know on what grounds it’s a money laundering case. Probably you too feel the same. According to me, it does not attract the money laundering case because compensatory sites were given. So, how is it a money laundering case?” he questioned.
The case centres on the allotment of 14 sites by MUDA to Parvathi. On Monday, the ED filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR, under PMLA provisions, accusing Siddaramaiah and others of financial wrongdoing. He dismissed these charges and expressed confusion over the application of PMLA in this case.
Siddaramaiah also ruled out the possibility of resigning, insisting that he had committed no offence. “I work with conscience. So there is no need for me to resign,” he said, responding to growing calls for his resignation from opposition leaders.
After the case was registered by the ED, Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, on Monday wrote to the MUDA, offering to relinquish the ownership of the 14 plots. In her letter, Parvathi said that her husband’s reputation and peace of mind were far more important to her than any material possession.
In response, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that Parvathi’s move amounted to an admission of guilt. The BJP leaders suggested that the surrendering of the sites indicated wrongdoing on the part of the chief minister and his family.
Responding to CM’s wife’s decision to surrender the lands, state BJP president BY Vijayendra said that surrendering the sites did not absolve Siddaramaiah or his family from the allegations against them. “Just because they have decided to surrender the sites does not mean that all allegations against CM Siddaramaiah and his family will wash out. He is bound to face the investigation and should cooperate. Being him the CM, there can’t be a fair investigation so we demand his resignation,” he asserted.
Siddaramaiah rejected BJP’s interpretation and accused the party of twisting the facts to suit their political agenda. “How is it a crime or even a confession when someone decides to discard something saying that they don’t want the controversy? The opposition party leaders are ‘Vishwaguru’ in lies,” he remarked.
He further said the BJP was demanding his resignation without any substantive basis. “Will the case be closed after I resign? They are unnecessarily demanding my resignation. Why should I resign when I have not committed any wrong?” he added.
The political slugfest intensified when Vijayendra drew a parallel between this case and a similar controversy involving former chief minister B S Yediyurappa. During a briefing, Vijayendra played a video clip in which Siddaramaiah, during his time as the opposition leader, criticised Yediyurappa for allegedly surrendering sites that had been illegally allocated to his children. In the video, Siddaramaiah could be heard saying, “He (Yediyurappa) has surrendered sites illegally given to his children....what does it mean? If no wrong was committed, why were the sites surrendered? As it was illegally done, sites were surrendered. He has accepted the wrong.”
Citing this video, Vijayendra accused Siddaramaiah of having a double standard. However, Siddaramaiah dismissed the comparison, arguing that the two cases were fundamentally different. He said that Yediyurappa’s case involved the denotification of land, whereas he had no direct role in the MUDA land allocation to his wife. “Are there my orders or even exchange of letters (with MUDA)? There is a vast difference between that case (Yediyurappa’s),” Siddaramaiah said.
As the controversy continues, Vijayendra said that senior Congress leaders, including Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar and Home Minister G Parameshwara, were also in favour of Siddaramaiah stepping down.
According to Vijayendra, internal discussions within the Congress had already taken place about finding Siddaramaiah’s replacement. “DK Shivakumar and a couple of other senior leaders within the Congress are the chief ministers in waiting. In yesterday’s (Tuesday) discussion between DK Shivakumar and G. Parameshwara, they have taken a clear stand that they should seek the resignation of the Chief Minister. I am told that the Congress high command has already taken this decision,” he said.
While talking to reporters on Tuesday, home minister G Parameshwara raised doubts over the ED’s decision, especially given the absence of any financial transactions in the MUDA land allocation. “I don’t know the decisions of ED to register a PMLA case. As far as I know, there were no financial transactions. There is no benefit out of those transactions, either by CM or CM’s wife. In both cases, I don’t see any financial transactions. So why or how the ED got involved in this, I don’t know. They will have to justify it later,” he said.
“She has clarified her stand. She returned the plots, as the entire episode has been turned into a political one and it is tarnishing her husband’s image. The ED has no role at this point in time. As I said, there is no financial transaction. So PMLA cannot be applicable in this particular case,” he added.
