2015: Will BJP plan to nail CM Siddaramaiah on Arkavathy scam succeed?
Bengaluru: The opposition BJP is bent on making life difficult for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in 2015 and has decided to seek Governor Vajubhai Vala’s sanction to prosecute the Chief Minister for his alleged role in the Arkavathy denotification scam.
The BJP has been alleging that the CM illegally denotified more than 500 acres of land in the BDA formed layout reducing the extent of land available for allotment to genuine site allotttees.
At the recent state BJP core committee meeting at Delhi, the central leadership has given the go-ahead to the state BJP to drum up support on the Arkavathy denotification issue.
The leadership reportedly suggested that Arkavathy is a fit case for fighting in a court of law as there is ‘merit’ in the allegations made against the Chief Minister.
Once the party’s central legal team clarifies on legal issues, the BJP will seek Governor Vala’s sanction to prosecute the CM. In all likelihood the BJP will seek the Governor’s sanction in mid January, said a top BJP leader.
“In the last core committee meeting, the Arkavathy issue was discussed in detail. The central leadership told us that it is a fit case for legal action against the Congress government.
By violating rules and procedure, the CM has signed the file on denotification of land earmarked for Arkavathy layout”, a senior BJP leader said.
If the Governor, a former BJP minister from Gujarat, gives his nod to the saffron party to prosecute the Chief Minister, the BJP will file a criminal petition before the lower court by making Siddaramaiah an accused.
If the Governor dismisses the BJP petition, the party will file a private complaint against the Chief Minister, said BJP sources.
With senior state BJP leaders themselves facing land related corruption charges, the Arkavathy denotification issue could prove to be an effective weapon for the party to nullify the Congress criticism against it, said sources.
Meanwhile the state unit is preparing to welcome party national president Amit Shah who will be in Bengaluru on January 3. Mr. Shah will have a meeting with party core committee members and then have discussions with party MPs, MLAs and MLCs.
