Yeddyurappa, Sons in a bigger land scam

Mtoday news

Bangalore, Dec 26: There is more evidence that Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurrappa and sons have been annexing land and breaking the rule book at will.
Yeddyurrappa had declared before the Lokayukta that he owns 9.5 acres of land in his home district of Shimoga.

The information available showed that the land was converted to industrial land just months after he became the chief minister.

 

The Violation: His declared income is Rs 3.7 lakh as salary and Rs 12 lakh from rent. The Karnataka land reforms act says that if your non agriculture income is more than Rs 2 lakh annually you cannot buy agriculture land.

Yeddyurrappa’s political secretary, BJ Puttuswamy is quick to defend him. He insists that Yeddyurappa is a farmer and any irregularities can be probed by the Income Tax department.

It’s not just Yeddyurrappa who has used his powers to buy farm land and convert to industrial use. Documents accessed by CNN-IBN show another dubious sale agreement - of 21 acres sold by the CM’s son in law Sohan Kumar.
Sohan has sold this land to his own realty company Davalagiri Properties - jointly owned by him and the Chief Minister’s 2 sons Raghavendra and Vijayendra.
Title deeds also show the CM’s sons Raghavendra and Vijayendra bought about 13 acres individually, and about 36 acres through an education trust they run.

As the Congress mounts counter pressure on BJP to act against Yeddyurrappa, the unfolding tale of how the Chief Minister used discretionary powers will further embarrass his party. For now the BJP leaders are taking shelter in the "I need to verify" line. With more revelations the moral momentum against corruption cannot be wished away.

Courtesy: CNN-IBN