ED books Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA linked money-laundering case

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 30 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in an alleged money laundering case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), the sources said.
Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that Karnataka Chief Minister will be proved innocent.
"It is no secret that the ED has become a tool for the non-biological Prime Minister to harass political opponents and carry out politics of vengeance and revenge. In May 2023, the people of Karnataka rejected him badly. He is unable to forget that humiliation. The Congress believes that he and his ED will soon be fully exposed. We have nothing to fear in any way. The Karnataka Chief Minister will be proved innocent," Jairam Ramesh posted on X.
Earlier on September 27, the Lokayukta Police filed an FIR against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in connection with the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment 'scam'.
The FIR has been filed by the Mysuru Lokayukta under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 351, 420, 340, 09, and 120B among others, they said.
The FIR mentions CM Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law and others as accused in the case, they added.
It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in the prime location of Mysuru city.
The BJP has demanded that CM Siddaramiah resign and the probe be taken over by the ED and CBI.
"In the case of Karnataka Congress CM Siddaramaiah's MUDA scam, the way his family made huge wealth by misusing land and government authority in the Mysore Urban Development Authority, the court has given this decision in which CM Siddaramaiah has been made accused number one. Is the Chief Minister the first and the prime accused in this? The important thing is no central agency has investigated this and no one has filed an application on their own," RS MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said.
CM Siddaramiah however has quashed all demands for his resignation.
"Let them first take the resignation of HD Kumaraswamy and others; shouldn't they make them Kumaraswamy resign? Even Modi also has to resign in the electoral bond issue. They have misused the electoral bond and looted; in that issue, HD Kumarswamy, Nirmala Sitharaman and Modi resign first," Siddaramaiah said. (ANI)