Lokayukta Clean Chit to K'taka CM Triggers Political Slugfest

Congress Said That It Was an Out-and-Out Political Ploy to Defame CM's & State Govt's Image

- LAKSHMANA VENKAT KUCHI

A predictable war of words has broken out over the final report of the Lokayukta Police on its investigation into the MUDA scam in which Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah and his wife Padmavathi are the prime accused – with the Opposition calling it a sham investigation and the ruling party saying that it was an out-and-out political ploy to defame and spoil the Congress', CM's and state government's image.

The moment Lokayukta Police officials presented to the People's Representative Court in Bengaluru, the voluminous investigation report on the alleged MUDA scam, running into thousands of pages and documents, carried in some four bags, in which the investigators informed the court that there was no evidence of any corruption as alleged against all the four accused including Siddaramaiah and his wife, both the Opposition and the ruling party began spinning the narrative in their favour.

The first attack, however, came from the RTI activist, Snehamayi Krishna, who in a statement declared that he would challenge the clean chit given to the Congress leader and Chief Minister and also charged the Lokayukta with protecting the political leaders.