Back in the land of engrossing political agenda, the Congress party seems to be involved with another controversy regarding land in Karnataka allotted to Mallikarjun Kharge’s family trust. A notable portion of land was allotted to the trust run by Kharge’s son, named Rahul Kharge. Originally, the Land at this aerospace park close to Bangalore was earmarked for the development of SC/ST civic amenities but now the Congress government in Karnataka has handed it over to Siddhartha Vihar Trust.
It was Lahar Singh Siroya of the BJP who first raised his voice on the issue and questioned the eligibility criteria on which the family of Mallikarjun Kharge was given the agricultural land in Karnataka.
The BJP has stressed that the state administration has been prejudiced against SC/ST entrepreneurs in conceiving a project and has favoured the Kharge family too much. Senior BJP leader Chalavadi T Narayanaswamy even wrote to Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot in regards to investigating the matter.
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In response to the land allotment process, the government stated all regulations were adhered to, education is this trust’s priority and hence why it was reserved for that purpose. Minister MB Patil elaborated on the same sentiments.
However, the public outcry and media coverage generated by this controversy have been immense. Critics say that granting such land to a trust is a betrayal. Local communities were originally meant to benefit from that piece of land anyway. Therefore, opposition politicians and civil society activists have called for an independent review of how things were done so as not to incur any form of discrimination.
The long-run political outcome of the controversial development of land in Karnataka allotted to Mallikarjun Kharge’s family trust will become apparent with the upcoming elections approaching.
However, these charges have been denied by the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka asserting that the Trust will be using the land for education programs.
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