The Congress party and its state government in Karnataka, which has been facing back-to-back corruption charges, are now facing serious allegations of Land Scam 3.0. Notably, on Monday (2nd September), BJP Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya demanded an independent investigation into the allotment of 19 acres of government land to an Institute run by the Congress President Kharge family’s trust, “free of cost”. He added that the 2017 audit report revealed that this was not done in the ‘larger public interest’.
There is a new document on the 19 acres given to the Pali Institute run by the Siddhartha Vihara Trust of the Kharge family. The audit report from 2017 observes that the land allocated “free of cost” is not in “larger public interest.” 1/2@PMOIndia @JPNadda @kharge @RahulGandhi https://t.co/LI2v514Phu pic.twitter.com/dPjjEcj6Gq
— Lahar Singh Siroya (@LaharSingh_MP) September 3, 2024
Strikingly, the Congress party and its senior leaders are already facing mounting pressure from the opposition and legal troubles in the MUDA scam involving CM Siddaramaiah and the allocation of 5 acres of land to a trust managed and run by the family members of party President Mallikarjun Kharge, through ‘misuse of power’ and ‘flouting rules’.
Mr. Mallikarjun @kharge n his family are 'proudly' continuing the tradition that @RahulGandhi and his family have done for decades!
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@RajeevRC_X) September 3, 2024
Cong leaders come to power by talking abt serving the poor, providing opportunities for the youth, 'khatakhat' & all that…but once in power,… pic.twitter.com/fz6PPb1hDs
A few weeks earlier, BJP MP Siroya flagged the irregularities and alleged scam in the allocation of a 5-acre plot to the Kharge family’s trust in an aerospace park near Bangalore. In a fresh revelation, he has now released documents stating that 19 acres of land were given to the Pali Institute, run by Siddhartha Vihara Trust – the Kharge family’s trust. While 16 acres (3 acres given later) were initially given to Pali Institute, run by Siddhartha Vihara Trust, on lease for 30 years, all 19 acres were later transferred ‘free of cost’ to the Institute run by Kharge family’s trust.
New documents reveal that 19 acres of government land was given FREE to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy in Gulbarga, run by the Siddhartha Vihara Trust managed by the Shri Mallikarjuna Kharge family. Trustees of the Siddhartha trust.. 1/7 pic.twitter.com/l5bMkCvBXC
— Lahar Singh Siroya (@LaharSingh_MP) September 2, 2024
Meanwhile, reacting to BJP MP’s allegations, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge defended the land allotment to the Pali Institute. Claiming that there are no wrongdoings in the allotment of government land to an Institute run by their family’s trust, he said, “Land is only leased to Pali Institute and there is no grant of land to Pali Institute. Land and any construction on the land is not owned by the Pali Institute.”
In a long post, Kharge claimed that the Karnataka Congress government assisted the Institute in line with the budget announcements of the Central and the state governments for the promotion of the Pali language.
. @LaharSingh_MP avare. Looks like your political brokering job isn’t doing too well and you need to win favour of your bosses.
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) September 2, 2024
Here are some facts for you:
The International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy, Kalaburgi has been established by the… https://t.co/Lket9dCxnk
BJP MP slammed Priyank Kharge for his lengthy post claiming that there was no wrongdoing in the government orders. Siroya reiterated his demand for a probe into this land allocation.
Thank you for your long cut and paste response to my short post. I have demanded for a probe and I stand by it. Also, if I don’t please my bosses can I please your bosses — the dynasty? https://t.co/Soz4aJAdV2
— Lahar Singh Siroya (@LaharSingh_MP) September 2, 2024
Timeline and details of the alleged Land Scam 3.0
On 2nd September, the BJP MP released a detailed statement explaining the timeline of the land allocation as well as shared a media report which had accessed the deed documents of this said transfer of government land to an Institute-run by the Kharge family.
In his statement, Siroya said, “New documents reveal that 19 acres of government land was given FREE to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit and Comparative Philosophy in Gulbarga, run by the Siddhartha Vihara Trust managed by the Shri Mallikarjuna Kharge family.”
According to the reports, the trustees of this Siddhartha Vihar Trust include Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife Radhabai Kharge, his son-in-law and Gulbarga MP Radhakrishna, his son, who is also Karnataka Minister, Priyanka Kharge, and another son, Rahul Kharge. It was formed in July 1994.
The BJP MP added that the Congress President’s son-in-law Radhakrishna is the secretary of the Pali Institute.
According to the report in The File, the 19-acre land was allotted on lease in the name of educational purposes. However, the documents have revealed that the land worth approximately Rs 40 crores was allotted free of charge and an order was issued to that effect.
The report added, “The land was initially allotted on a 30-year lease basis to the International Trust for Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy in Survey No. 88/1 of Kusanur village, Kalburgi taluk.”
However, when the trust filed a request to modify this order, the then Congress government complied and issued an order to change the land allotted in lease form to ‘free’. According to the report, this was all completed in haste.
As per the Timeline, Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister of Karnataka when the land was transferred to the Pali Institute free of cost and Priyanka Kharge was a Minister in his government. The File that accessed the government order and other documents in this regard has also included them in their report.
The report further states that the Kalburgi District Collector gave the lease deed to sitting MP Radhakrishna, who is also the secretary of the trust.
The content written in the government order and the Trust’s request statement to modify it
According to The File, the first order was issued on 4th March 2014, allotting 16 acres of land to the International Trust For Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy on a 30-year lease basis. This was done to establish a research center for Pali and Sanskrit languages in Survey No. 88/1 of Kusanur village for 30 years at 10% of the prevailing market price. Later it was sanctioned on a lease basis subject to the condition of increasing this lease amount to 10% every two years.
Two years later, another order was issued through which 3 acres of land in Survey No. 88/1 was further added to the previously leased land with the same conditions imposed as were mentioned in the 4th March 2014 order.
Following these government orders, the Pali Institute submitted appeals to the government in March and August 2016. The Insitute claimed that it was doing special research related to the Pali language and was not undertaking any profitable activities other than educational purposes.
It added that it had representatives of both the central government and the state government, and its activities are supported by them. It lamented, “Thus the organization is not in a position to pay the expensive lease amount. Therefore, the proposed land should be allotted free instead of giving it on a 30-year lease.”
Accepting their request, the Congress government issued an order on 15th March 2017 through which all 19 acres were transferred to the Institute run by the Kharge family’s trust, free of cost, as stated by BJP MP Siroya.
The BJP MP noted that the 2017 audit report revealed that this was not done in the ‘larger public interest’ and thus demanded a probe into this land transfer and said, “I demand that this land transfer of 19 acres, like the KIADB land grant of 5 acres, should be probed by an independent agency.”
The BJP MP concluded by saying, “Another pertinent question to ask in this context is, did the Shri Siddaramaiah government come under pressure from Shri Kharge to grant parcels of land to their private trust or was the Congress government in Kamataka trying to please Shri Kharge?”
