BJP accuses Sudarshan of grabbing government land

The BJP on Wednesday stepped up its attack on the ruling Congress over the issue of appointments to the Karnataka Public Service Commission and accused V R Sudarshan, who has been recommended for the post of chairman, of grabbing government land at Vemagal in Kolar district.

Addressing the media, leader of the Opposition in Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar charged Sudarshan with encroaching 10 guntas of government land in survey number 214/1 of Vemagal by creating fictitious documents.

An illegal commercial building has been constructed on the land, he claimed.
Shettar said the RTC (Record of Rights, Tenancy and Crops) of the said land for the year 1970-71 shows the property as “government beelu” (vacant land).

The name of V S Rama Shetty, father of Sudarshan, is also mentioned in the RTC. However, there is no record (mutation entry) to show how and when the name was included in the RTC.

An RTC obtained recently does not show anybody’s name. The building that has come up on the land is in Sudarshan’s name, he said.

Complaint to Lokayukta
A person named Lokesh had lodged a complaint on the encroachment with the Kolar deputy commissioner in April 2014. The DC had directed the tahsildar to look into the matter. But, no action was taken by the tahsildar.

Hence, Lokesh lodged a complaint with the Karnataka Lokayukta on July 23, 2014. The case has been put on the back burner as Sudarshan was a Congress leader, he added.

“Prima facie it proves that Sudarshan has encroached upon government land. The BJP will urge Governor Vajubhai Vala and Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao to take appropriate action in this regard. I also urge Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to withdraw the list of names proposed for KPSC appointments and set up a search committee to select eligible persons,” Shettar stated.

The BJP leaders led by Shettar later met the governor at Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum in this regard. The leaders urged the governor to reject names recommended by the government.

Defends Kagodu
This apart, Shettar also charged the ruling party with “insulting” Legislative Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa for criticising him (Kagodu) over his comments on lapses in administration.

“The Speaker is a constitutional post. It is not proper to humiliate the person occupying the post. Kagodu Thimmappa no longer belongs to the Congress. The Congress legislators have no right to complain against him to their party leader. Congress leader Janardhana Poojary has no right to demand his resignation,” he stated.

He defended Kagodu saying that the Speaker had every right to comment on the functioning of the government and demanded that the chief minister should clarify his stand on the issue.
DH News Service