BJP leaders take out protest march to Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's residence, taken into preventive custody

NEW DELHI: The opposition BJP leaders attempted to lay siege to the chief minister's office-cum-residence in Karnataka on Wednesday, alleging rampant corruption by the ruling Congress government, but were detained by police. Among those taken into preventive custody were BJP state president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka, and former ministers S Sunil Kumar, Araga Jnanendra, S Suresh Kumar, C N Ashwath Narayan, and C T Ravi, along with several MLAs and a large number of party workers.The heavy deployment of police forces prevented the BJP leaders from reaching their destination.
The BJP has accused the Congress government of being involved in a Rs 4,000 crore alternative sites (plots) scam within the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), alleging one of the beneficiaries is Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi. Additionally, the party raised concerns about a Rs 180 crore scam within the Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, which they claim led to the suicide of accounts superintendent P Chandrasekharan.
"There is rampant corruption going on in the Congress government. The MUDA scam in the chief minister's home district Mysuru is much bigger than the scam in the Valmiki Corporation," Vijayendra told reporters before being taken into preventive custody.
Ashoka demanded transparency in the investigation process, urging that the MUDA scam should be handed over to the CBI. He criticized the government's decision to assign the case to a panel of IAS officers instead.
The BJP's allegations have stirred political tensions in Karnataka, highlighting the ongoing accusations of corruption against the Congress government. The unfolding events and the state's response to the demands for an investigation will be closely monitored.