M A I N   N E W S

Yeddyurappa admits allotting land to kin
Shubhadeep Choudhury/TNS

Bangalore, July 4
In a development that will embarrass the BJP further, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today admitted that he had allotted residential sites in Mysore to his relatives. The Chief Minister, however, tried to justify the allotment, saying the sites (numbering four) were given to his relatives on compassionate grounds.

As usual, it was JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy who brought the incident to light when he alleged at a press conference yesterday that the Chief Minister had allotted sites of the Mysore Urban Development Authority to 10 of his close relatives under his discretionary quota by ignoring all rules.

Yeddyurappa today said he had two brothers and they had passed away, while a brother-in-law had also died and added that their nearest kin had been allotted a total of four sites. He said he had no personal connection with six other recipients of sites mentioned by Kumaraswamy. Yeddyurappa's family members had surrendered prime plots in Bangalore in November last year after the allegations of nepotism by Yeddyurappa came under the spotlight.

The land surrendered by the family members included a 4,000-sq ft residential plot in Bangalore’s upscale Raj Mahal Vilas (RMV) extension allotted by Yeddyurappa to son BY Raghavendra, a BJP Lok Sabha member from Shimoga. To avail himself of the benefit, Raghavendra had submitted a “false” affidavit, saying he had no residential property in Bangalore. The plot was allotted under the Chief Minister’s discretionary ‘G’ quota, meant for people who achieve eminence
in their respective fields but do not own residential property.

Raghavendra and brother BY Vijayendra had also surrendered a two-acre prime industrial plot at Jigani Industrial Estate on Bangalore’s outskirts. The plot was allotted to them when Yeddyurappa was Deputy Chief Minister in 2007.

Yeddy’s daughter Umadevi also gave up two acres of industrial land allotted to her near Harohalli on the outskirts of Bangalore after he became Chief Minister in May 2008. The opposition campaign also forced Yeddyurappa’s daughter-in-law and sister to surrender land that was given to them by Yeddyurappa from his discretionary quota.