HDK slams Siddaramaiah for accusing opposition of targeting wife in MUDA case

Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday attacked Siddaramaiah for accusing the opposition of dragging his wife into the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case and said the situation was due to the chief minister’s own actions.
“Time and again you say the opposition is jealous and accuse us of dragging your wife into the MUDA case. You have brought your wife, who was respectfully at home, out into the open because of the wrongs you have committed in her name,” Kumaraswamy said in a press conference. His remarks were in response to Siddaramaiah’s appeal to the public over accusations involving his wife, Parvathi BM, in a land allotment case.
Siddaramaiah had earlier lashed out at the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and JD(S), accused them of unfairly targeting his wife, who has never been involved in public life. He alleged that the attacks were motivated by their inability to accept a person from a backward community occupying the CM’s post.
He is currently facing investigations by the Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over allegations of irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites by MUDA to his wife and other family members. Besides his wife Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and a landowner, Devaraju, who was involved in the transaction, have also been named in the case.
Read more: Karnataka: Land de-notification fans fresh controversy for CM Siddaramaiah
Kumaraswamy also questioned Siddaramaiah’s record of serving the “AHINDA” communities (an acronym for minorities, backward classes, and Dalits), and criticised the CM for his handling of government schemes and corruption issues. “Repeatedly you speak about AHINDA, but what have you done for them? Haven’t we seen what happened in the Valmiki corporation scam and the looting that took place there?” he asked.
He also challenged Siddaramaiah to a debate comparing the development achievements of the current Congress government with those during his own tenure as CM in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government of 2018-19. “Let him ask the people what they will do to him for this kind of governance,” he said, pointing to the growing discontent among citizens.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah, addressing the “Swabhimani Samavesha” (self-esteem convention) organised for the “AHINDA” communities, reiterated his defence. “They (opposition) got so frustrated that they dragged my wife, who had never entered politics or stepped out of her house (in public life), on the road. You need to ask (opposition) this question whether this is justified,” he said.
He argued that his government’s five guarantees, introduced last year, had been instrumental in improving the economic and social standing of the poor, backward communities, women, and Dalits, “a progress that the opposition could not tolerate”.
“They want to topple the Siddaramaiah government for just one reason — that I belong to a backward community. That’s their heartburn. Can you tolerate this?” he questioned.