BJP demands CBI probe into de-notification of land

Leader of Opposition R Jagadish Shettar on Thursday demanded the state government order Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into de-notification of 541 acres of land meant for the formation of Arkavathy Layout by chief minister Siddaramaiah.

Speaking with media persons, Jagadish Shettar alleged chief minister Siddaramaiah de-notified 541 acres of land at Arkavathy Layout on March 31. "The state government had constituted a committee under Chief Secretary on December 20, 2012. The objective of the committee is to scrutinize the decisions taken by the government to de-notify land. Instead of referring the decision to de-notify the land to the committee, the chief minister de-notified 541 acres of land,'' Shettar alleged.

He said the chief minister has been making allegations against him of the resolution passed by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) during the BJP regime. "It is true the BDA passed a resolution to de-notify 422 acres of land that was acquired for the formation of Arkavathy Layout but I rejected the resolution. I want to know how come 422 acres became 541 acres during Siddaramaiah's regime,'' he asked.

On the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) registering a first information report (FIR) against him for allotting four acres of land to a freedom fighter family, he said the FIR was sponsored by Congress. "The chief minister wanted to defame by registering an FIR. I allotted the land based on the High Court's directive,'' he said.