JOIN USSurrendering land won't absolve BSY: Opposition
Both the Congress and the JD(S) said surrendering lands would not absolve the chief minister of the charges, and demanded that he should step down immediately.
Addressing reporters, JD(S) State president H D Kumaraswamy said the law of the land applied to the chief minister, too. “There is no provision in the law to let a thief go scot-free if he agrees to return the stolen goods. The thief will be punished. Similarly, Yeddyurappa cannot escape the law by returning all the lands that were illegally allotted to his relatives,” he said.
If Yeddyurappa can be allowed to continue in his post, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, who resigned over his alleged involvement in the Adarsh housing scam, and former Telecom minister A Raja, who quit over the 2G spectrum scam, could be also reinstated if they announce to withdraw their decisions, he said.
There are chances of Yeddyurappa tampering with the documents if he continues in the office. He should step down till a thorough inquiry is done into the issue. If he comes clean, then he can take over as chief minister again, Kumaraswamy added.
On the government’s decision to order a judicial probe, he said: “The documents speak for themselves against Yeddyurappa. As far as land scams in the past are concerned, the probe should be done by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde who is also a retired Supreme Court judge.”
Karnataka Congress president G Parameshwara said Yeddyurappa should face punishment for the mistakes he has committed.
The chief minister’s actions have proved that he has allotted land to his relatives in violation of law. He has to step down and face inquiry.
JD(S) leader H D Revanna said bureaucrats in the chief minister’s office were destroying records pertaining to cases of denotification in order to mislead the judicial probe.
He said he had copies of all denotification deals struck during Yeddyurappa’s rule. He said he would release them at an appropriate time.