SPS founder-president S.R. Hiremath and Karnataka Rashtra Samiti Party president Ravikrishna Reddy, among others, releasing a booklet, Documents Speak, in Dharwad on Monday, on the alleged land-grabbing by Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his relatives in Bidadi hobli.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) founder-president S.R. Hiremath has said that Union Minister for Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy and his relatives have encroached upon gomala land (grazing land) at Kethiganahalli in Bidadi Hobli of Ramnagar district and despite a High Court order for the recovery of the land, nothing has been done in the last four years.
Addressing a press conference in Dharwad on Monday, Mr. Hiremath said that Mr. Kumaraswamy’s aunt Savitramma and relative D.C. Thammanna have encroached upon the grazing land against which the former MP Made Gowda approached the Lokayukta seeking action.
He said that the Lokayukta found grave irregularities in the case and wrote to Principal Secretary for the requisite action. However, as no action was taken by the Principal Secretary (Revenue) even after five years of the recommendation for action and four reminders by the Lokayukta, the SPS moved the High Court of Karnataka through a PIL.
Then, the Principal Secretary submitted the inquiry report (of June 6, 2020) confirming encroachment of 71.30 acres of gomala land by politically powerful people, he said.
However, even after four years after this submission before court, no action has been taken by the government and the SPS has now filed a contempt petition against the State government, he said.
Documents Speak released
State president of Karnataka Rashtra Samiti Party Ravikrishna Reddy said that they have released a booklet, Daakhalegalu Mataduttive (Documents Speak), on the illegally acquired property of Mr. Kumaraswamy and his relatives.
He said that in the order of August 5, 2014, the Assistant Commissioner of Ramnagar has ordered recovery of 200 acres of land, including the 110 acres of gomala land in Kethiganahalli, grabbed by Mr. Kumaraswamy and his relatives.
Terming it a 40-year-old land grabbing case, Mr. Reddy said that the house of Mr. Kumaraswamy and his farmland in Kethiganahalli are the result of his land grabbing.
BJP MP C.N. Manjunath too has declared his land holding in Kethiganahalli in his election affidavit. “The land too is gomala land and it should also be inquired into,” he said and added that the documents pertaining to the case have disappeared due to the connivance of all political parties.
‘Return MUDA sites’
To a query on the MUDA scam, Mr. Hiremath said that it was wrong of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to say that the sites were in his wife’s name and nowhere there was any signature of his in the documents. “First, he should return all the sites to the authority and leave it to the government agency concerned and people to decide,” he said.
