Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda
Credit: DH File Photo
Belagavi: The Opposition BJP demanded Wednesday the resignation of Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, counted as one among the 'cleanest' faces in the Congress government, accusing him of usurping 21.16 acres of land in his family's native Kolar district.
While the BJP said it had documents to back the claim, Gowda refuted the allegation and said he would cooperate with an independent investigation.
The allegation pertains to survey numbers 46 (20.16 acres) and 47 (one acre) at Garudanapalya village, Narsapura hobli in Kolar.
"According to original documents dating back to 1978, survey number 46 was lake land. Nobody can lay claim on lake land," Leader of the Opposition Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said. "Survey number 47 was 'Kharab land' earmarked as cemetery, which can't be transferred," he said, demanding an investigation.
The BJP said that mutation -- the process of recording change in land ownership -- for 21.16 acres was done last year. The saffron party's claim is that documents were fudged to help Gowda's family get the land.
The Record of Rights, Tenancy, and Crops (RTC) furnished by the BJP shows the names of Gowda and his family members as joint holders of the 21.16 acres. "Each acre costs Rs 5-6 crore today," Narayanaswamy said.
Reacting to this, Gowda described as "mudslinging" and "politically motivated" the BJP's allegation.
Gowda said the Garudanapalya land was "ancestral property" passed down from his grandfather. "My grandfather bought the land. Then, it came to my father (former minister C Byre Gowda) and his siblings. It was partitioned within the family," he said.
Gowda said records can be checked to verify whether or not his grandfather had bought the land.
"They [BJP] can approach the Lokayukta seeking an investigation. If there's no faith in the Lokayukta, they can go to court," Gowda said. "As revenue minister, I don't want to ask my officials to check records pertaining to land connected to me. That's why an independent institution should check this," he said.
This is the third land-related 'scam' hurled by the BJP against the governing Congress.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife had to return 14 plots to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) following allegations of irregularities.
The Siddhartha Vihar Trust, linked to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's family, returned a 5-acre Civic Amenities (CA) site granted to it in Bengaluru by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) after allegations of nepotism.