Bengaluru: BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya on Sunday raised questions over the alleged allotment of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) land to a trust run by the family of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, asking when did he become an aerospace entrepreneur to be eligible for the land. He also sought to know whether the case involved abuse of power, nepotism and conflict of interest.
Siroya said in a statement, “A news report supported by documents has revealed that a trust (Siddhartha Vihar Trust) run by the family of Mallikarjun Kharge has been allotted five acres of land (out of total 45.94 acres) of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board for civic amenities under SC quota at Hi-Tech Defence Aerospace Park near Bengaluru.” Interestingly, the trustees of the trust include Kharge himself, his wife Radhabai Kharge, his son-in-law and Gulbarga MP Radhakrishna Doddamani, his son and Karnataka government minister Priyank Kharge and another son Rahul Kharge, the MP said.
“Is this about abuse of power, nepotism and conflict of interest?” he asked, questioning how Industry Minister M B Patil gave consent for this allotment in March 2024. “When did the Kharge family become aerospace entrepreneurs to be eligible for KIADB land? The matter of this alleged illegal allotment has also reached the Raj Bhavan through an RTI activist,” Siroya asked. “Will the Kharge family eventually have to give up this land, like Siddaramaiah (Chief Minister) has to give up the controversial MUDA plots in Mysuru,” he sought to know.
