Kharge land deal row: BJP MP slams K’taka Minister for calling him ‘Rajasthani’

Bengaluru, Aug 27 (IANS) BJP Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya has slammed state Minister Priyank Kharge for calling him a “Rajasthani” in the backdrop of questioning the allotment of land to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s family members by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).

Taking to X on Tuesday, Lahar Singh said, “Kharge Jr. and his friends attacked me as Rajasthani for questioning KIADB land deal. I want to ask if Sonia Gandhi was born in Jhunjhunu to be RS MP from Rajasthan. Was K.C. Venugopal born in Sikar and Randeep Surjewala born in Churu to be given RS tickets from Rajasthan?” “By the way, does the Nehru family hail from Uttar Pradesh or from Kashmir?” he further asked.

“Kharge Jr (Priyank Kharge) and his friends personally attacked me as Rajasthani for questioning the KIADB land allocation to the trust comprising Mallikarjun Kharge and his family members. Is it a crime to be Rajasthani? I hope these fellows know Rajasthan is not in Pakistan,” Lahar Singh charged.

“I have lived and worked in Karnataka for 59 years. I speak, read and write Kannada. I have been the treasurer of the Karnataka BJP, and I served my party to be MLC and MP. I did not come from a political dynasty like Rahul Gandhi or Kharge Junior (Priyank Kharge). I am proud to be nobody. That is real democracy that the Congress party pretends to defend,” he maintained.

“Before he casts a stone, Kharge Junior should know he is in a glass house. He should know I am only six years younger to his father and have been around longer than him. My experience has taught me more than his professed education,” he stated.

“Anyway, KIADB land allocation case has reached the Governor of Karnataka, and he will look into it. I am glad that neither the Kharge family nor the concerned minister have denied land allocation but instead have defended it. People are wise, they know how to judge this,” Lahar Singh stated.

Karnataka BJP had questioned the land allotment to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s family in the Hightech Defence Aerospace Park near Bengaluru.

“When did the Kharge family become aerospace entrepreneurs to be eligible for Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) land? How did the Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil consent to this allocation in March 2024? Is this about misuse of power, nepotism, and conflict of interest?” Siroya said.

He said that it has come to light that Siddhartha Vihara Trust run by Mallikarjun Kharge’s family, has been allocated five acres of KIADB land out of a total of 45.94 acres meant for civic amenities, under the SC quota, in the Hitech Defence Aerospace Park near Bengaluru.

“Interestingly, those who are trustees include Mallikarjun Kharge, his wife Radhabai Kharge; his son-in-law and Gulbarga MP Radhakrishna; another son and minister in the Karnataka government Priyank Kharge; another son Rahul Kharge among others. Is this about misuse of power, nepotism, or conflict of interest?” he had questioned.

Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil on Monday had said that the Siddhartha Vihara Education Trust, headed by Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge’s son Rahul Kharge, was allotted a CA (civic amenity) plot at Hi-Tech Defence and Aerospace Park at a prescribed price, in accordance with the KIADB norms.

–IANS

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