‘I spoke truth,’ Siddaramaiah after Lokayukta deposition in MUDA land scam case

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the media that he has told the Lokayukta police “the truth” in the land allocation case and said he hasn’t been asked to depose again. Siddaramaiah was questioned by the Lokayukta on Wednesday for about two hours, in the case regarding illegalities in allotment of sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
“The Lokayukta police questioned me, and I answered all their questions. They recorded everything and later read it back to me. Everything went smoothly. A fake case was filed against me, but I told them the truth. They haven’t asked me to appear again,” Siddaramaiah told the reporters after the questioning.
According to sources, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah underwent detailed questioning regarding the irregularities in land allotment by MUDA. Three officers led the interrogation, conducted without a set end time. As per the Code of Criminal Procedure, the entire questioning was video recorded to ensure transparency.
Investigators posed a range of questions, which the Chief Minister answered if he was knowledgeable on the topic, and refrained from addressing those he was not familiar with.
Sources revealed that about six officers were actively working on the investigation.
The Chief Minister, treated as an ordinary citizen by his request, was not given any special treatment. Although Siddaramaiah did not provide any documents during the session, follow-up questioning may be scheduled if necessary, for which he has already signed consent.
So far, 10-15 witnesses, alongside the four accused named in the FIR, have been questioned. The Lokayukta aims to submit a final report by December 24.
While interacting with the media after his deposition, the Chief Minister also rubbished the allegations raised by the BJP regarding the case handling.
“Why is the BJP protesting against me with ‘Go Back’ slogans? Are they against a court order? The court ordered an inquiryâ€æ are they opposing the investigation? They have made false allegations against me, but now the truth will come out.”
The BJP had disputed an earlier itinerary of the Chief Minister, according to which Siddaramaiah was scheduled to be at the office from 10 am to 12 am for the questioning.
The BJP had challenged the Chief Minister’s original schedule, which had him at the Lokayukta office from 10 am to 12 pm for questioning, followed by a campaign event for the Channapatna by-poll. The Opposition party argued that the accused shouldn’t set the timing of their own interrogation. Following the criticism, the Chief Minister’s schedule was adjusted.
Siddaramaiah also responded to BJP’s other objections and said: “Under whose control is the CBI? Has the BJP ever transferred a case to the CBI? Who pressured the Lokayukta? Lokayukta is an independent agency. They say CBI is independent, Lokayukta is independent at state level. The BJP doesn’t respect law and now they are raising doubts against the Lokayukta. So, do they not believe in the legal process? Have they ever referred a case to the CBI?”
Siddaramaiah has been named the primary accused in the case lodged by the Lokayukta and is facing allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the MUDA.