Mari Gowda, who heads the Mysuru urban development body, resigned on Wednesday, citing health grounds. The resignation comes as state and central agencies are investigating an alleged land scam in which Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife, and some other family members have been named.
Gowda is a long-time close confidant of Siddaramaiah and has been serving him since 1983. He became President of Mysuru Taluk Panchayat in 1995, Vice President of the Zilla Panchayat in 2000, and was promoted to Additional Deputy Commissioner in 2008. Siddaramaiah’s reaction to his resignation remains unclear.
The Chief Minister faces action from the Mysuru division of the Lokayukta, the state anti-corruption body, and the Enforcement Directorate, a federal agency. The list includes destruction of evidence with ED receiving a complaint in the first week of the current month.
Specifically, he is accused of allotting 14 sites in the posh Mysuru area of Vijayanagar to his wife. The Chief Minister maintains these were gifts from her brother in compensation for land acquired for various infrastructure projects and of far lower value. Anti-corruption activists contend this transaction caused a loss of ₹45 crore to the state.
Earlier this month, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority decided to take back the 14 plots from Siddaramaiah’s wife, BN Parvathi. However, they explained that the move would not impact their probe. Parvathi had earlier said she would give up the land but was forced to backtrack after she maintained that allegations against her husband were political.
Siddaramaiah has called his wife a “victim of the politics of hatred” and said she is being subjected to “psychological torture” due to unending probes. He vowed to fight the charges, saying he had not been convicted of any wrongdoings. Still reeling under attacks from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and demanding resignation, Siddaramaiah said, “I will fight. I am not afraid of anything.”
