JOIN USJD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would release a booklet on the “illegalities” in Arkavathi Layout to expose the Congress government.
He said the booklet had been prepared based on 7,000 pages of official documents which suggest Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had himself signed on the documents pertaining to the land deletion.
“I intend to distribute these booklets to all the members of the Assembly during the ongoing session. The documents show that Siddaramaiah has directly signed on the documents,” he said.
When asked why the documents were not submitted before the Justice H S Kempanna Commission, Kumaraswamy said: “When the government can hand over the case pertaining to 150 sites in Mandya to the CBI, a scam of the magnitude of Arkavathi Layout also merits a CBI inquiry.”
Earlier, during the JD(S) legislators’ party meeting, Kumaraswamy said the party had resolved take on the government over the Arkavathi issue with its combined strength. In the last 11 years, several politicians and bigwigs have been milking the Arkavathi Layout cow and left it dry. “Now, the new government is trying to do the same,” he said.
Rift in party?
Rumours of leaders from the JD(S) joining the Congress got strengthened on Monday when dissenting MLAs Cheluvarayaswamy and Zameer Ahmad Khan were seen cosying up to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Legislative Assembly hall.
With the two leaders and Magadi JD(S) MLA H C Balakrishna meeting Energy Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday, speculations were rife over the leaders joining the Congress.On Monday, Siddaramaiah was seen chatting with Zameer and Cheluvarayaswamy along with Congress MLA A Manju. He was even seen patting both MLAs in a jovial manner.
Kumaraswamy said he was not bothered about such matters as there were a lot of issues which required his attention. The absence of the three MLAs from the JD(S) legislature party meeting also added fuel to the rumours. Kumaraswamy, however, claimed that these MLAs had sought permission for leave of absence.