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Kharge, kin accused of ‘illegal’ land allocation
The complaint alleged irregularities in land allocated to Siddhartha Vihar Trust, linked to the Kharge family, under Congress government in Karnataka
A Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has lodged a complaint with the state Lokayukta against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, his son and state minister Priyank Kharge and many of their family members, accusing them of illegally acquiring public land in the state.
The complaint, lodged by NR Ramesh, alleged irregularities in land allocated to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust, linked to the Kharge family, under the Congress government in the state. The charges include fraud, forgery, conspiracy to illegally acquire government land, and facilitating the unlawful appropriation of public property.
“Ramesh NR of BJP has filed a complaint with Karnataka Lokayukta against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and others, alleging land grab by the Siddhartha Vihar Trust owned by Kharge’s family,” BJP IT department chief Amit Malviya posted on X on Friday.
“The trust reportedly received free land from the Congress government, raising questions about nepotism and criminal breach of trust,” he added.
In his complaint, the BJP leader has named the Congress chief, his wife Radhabai Kharge, his son-in-law and Gulbarga lawmaker Radhakrishna Doddamani, son Priyank Kharge, another son Rahul Kharge, Karnataka minister MB Patil and IAS officer S Selvakumar, among others.
No FIR has been registered in the case so far.
“We call for a thorough investigation into the role of the individuals involved in these land deals and how the approvals were given by the authorities,” Ramesh said.
The complaint mentioned the allocation of 8,002 square metre plot to the Siddartha trust in 2014 through the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). It also mentioned the allocation of a five-acre land in the Hi-Tech Defence and Aerospace Park in Bagalur to Rahul Kharge by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) on May 30, 2024.
Priyank Kharge, however, dismissed the charges, saying the complaint was politically motivated. “In yet another attempt to malign my family, the BJP has got one of their stooges to file a complaint with the Lokayukta and also with the Governor seeking prosecution,” he said in a statement.
The minister added the property in question, allocated by the BDA to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust in 2014, was legally obtained on a 30-year lease for establishing a school.
The allocation was based on a board resolution passed by the trust in 2010, he said. Noting that some of the landowners challenged the BDA’s decision in court, seeking the denotification of the land, he said the matter was sub-judice. He raised question as to why the BJP had not raised the issue earlier, noting the party was in power with five different chief ministers from 2010 to 2023.
“It seems I’m hitting a nerve and hurting the BJP, given their baseless accusations. But then again, they’re known for running fake news factories,” he added.
