BENGALURU: Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot has demanded an explanation from the state government regarding an alleged land allotment to a trust linked to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s family. This request comes as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensifies its accusations against the Kharge family, claiming that 19 acres of land in Kalaburagi were allocated to the family trust without cost.
The governor’s intervention follows a petition by a BJP leader, who called for the dismissal of Priyank Kharge, Mallikarjun Kharge’s son, from his position as a cabinet minister. The petition accuses him of nepotism and misuse of power. Priyank Kharge, the state’s minister for electronics, IT/BT, and rural development, confirmed that the governor had written to the chief secretary seeking an explanation. He criticized the governor for acting swiftly on complaints against Congress leaders while allegedly delaying action on similar issues involving BJP and JD(S) leaders.
“The governor seems to act with remarkable speed when it comes to complaints against Congress, but drags his feet on issues concerning BJP and JD(S) leaders,” Priyank Kharge stated, accusing Gehlot’s office of political bias. He added that despite evidence against BJP and JD(S) leaders, the governor has not taken any action, allowing complaints to gather dust on his desk.
The controversy centers on the alleged allotment of five acres of land by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) to the Siddhartha Vihara Trust, which is reportedly managed by members of the Kharge family. The BJP claims this allocation, supposedly under the SC quota in a hi-tech defense aerospace park near Bengaluru, represents a breach of trust, particularly for SC entrepreneurs.
The BJP’s leader of opposition in the state legislative council, Chalavadi T Narayanaswamy, has accused the Kharge family of using their influence to secure the land, questioning their eligibility as aerospace entrepreneurs. He also noted that trustees of the trust include several Kharge family members, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
In response to the allegations, the Karnataka government has defended the land allocation, stating it was done in accordance with the rules and aimed at establishing a skill development center. However, BJP Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya has presented new allegations, claiming that 19 acres of government land were handed over for free to the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy in Kalaburagi, which is also linked to the Kharge family trust.
Siroya further alleged that an additional 16 acres of land had been leased to the trust in 2014 during the previous Congress administration, with the lease later converted to full ownership in 2017. He has called for an independent investigation into the land transfers, suggesting that Priyank Kharge’s influence as a cabinet minister at the time may have played a role.
Priyank Kharge has denied any wrongdoing, stating that neither he nor his family owns the institute in question. He clarified that the International Institute of Pali, Sanskrit, and Comparative Philosophy was established by the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan and the Karnataka department of higher education, following a proposal by former Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2011. The land in question, he asserted, was only leased to the institute and not granted outright.
As the controversy continues to unfold, the Karnataka government faces mounting pressure to address the allegations and provide transparency in the land allocation process. The governor’s inquiry and the BJP’s persistent accusations have placed the Congress-led state administration in a challenging position, with potential political ramifications on the horizon.
