Bengaluru: A major controversy erupted in the Legislative Council on Tuesday over the allocation of civic amenity (CA) sites to Congress Bhavans at highly discounted prices, with the opposition BJP accusing the ruling Congress government of misusing public land to benefit its own party infrastructure.
During the Question Hour, BJP member DS Arun strongly raised the issue, alleging that valuable government land worth crores of rupees had been allotted to Congress Bhavans across Karnataka at throwaway prices. He described the decision as “daylight robbery” and demanded that the government immediately cancel the allotments.
Arun claimed that land valued at nearly Rs 40 crore had allegedly been allotted for just around ₹2 crore. “On what basis has the government given such prime land at such a low price? Public property cannot be distributed to a political party like this,” he said, accusing the ruling Congress of abusing its power.
Responding to the allegations, Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh defended the government’s decision, stating that the allocation had been made with Cabinet approval and in accordance with existing rules. He said that CA sites had been allotted to Congress Bhavans in districts including Tumakuru, Chamarajanagar, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.
The minister maintained that there was no violation of rules and that the Revenue Department had raised no objections. He further clarified that the government had no plans to withdraw the allotment of land to Congress Bhavans.
However, the explanation failed to convince the BJP members. Leader of Opposition in the Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy accused the government of violating norms and ignoring objections raised by officials. He alleged that officials had clearly indicated that such land allotments were not permissible in many locations.
“This is nothing but misuse of power. When officials themselves say land cannot be allotted, how can the government go ahead and give it at a discounted rate?” Narayanaswamy questioned, accusing the Congress of looting public resources for party interests.
Congress members in the Council objected to the remarks and demanded a detailed discussion. Congress MLC Ivan D’Souza urged the Chair to allow half an hour for debate on the matter, arguing that the opposition was making allegations without understanding the rules governing CA site allocations.
BJP members, however, continued to protest, insisting that the land allotment represented a clear case of favouritism. They demanded that the government immediately revoke the allotments and ensure that public land is not used to benefit the ruling party’s offices.
In his defence, Byrathi Suresh argued that CA sites have historically been allotted at concessional rates to various organisations and institutions. He also pointed out that land had been allotted in the past to organisations associated with the Sangh and even to BJP offices in some cases.
This claim triggered strong objections from BJP members, who argued that their party had never received land at the kind of heavily discounted rates allegedly given to Congress Bhavans. The House soon witnessed noisy scenes as members from both sides engaged in heated exchanges.
Narayanaswamy again described the allotment as a “massive loot of public property” and said the people of Karnataka were being cheated. He demanded a full discussion on the issue to expose what he called the Congress government’s misuse of authority.
Following the uproar, the Chair agreed to allow a half-hour discussion on the matter in the Council, setting the stage for further political confrontation between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.
