Bengaluru/IBNS: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has moved the High Court challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval to prosecute him in connection with the alleged irregularities in the land allocation by Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The Governor has sanctioned the prosecution of Siddaramaiah, a senior Congress leader.

The petitions were filed by three activists, Pradeep Kumar, TJ Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna.

A letter from the Governor's secretariat to the activists is quoted by NDTV, "As directed by the Governor, I am enclosing herewith the copy of the decision of the Competent Authority on the request of sanction for prosecution against the Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah, under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the BharatiyaNagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences mention in the petitions."

The opposition BJP has accused MUDA of illegally allotting an alternative site to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvati.

The BJP has protested outside the Chief Minister's residence and demanded his resignation.

Coming under fire, Siddaramaiah said the government is probing into the allegations and all allocations by MUDA have been suspended.

In a press statement, Siddaramaiah termed the Governor's decision "anti-Constitution" and "contrary to the law."

"It will be questioned in court. I have done no wrong to resign," he told reporters in Bengaluru as the Opposition demanded his resignation, according to NDTV.

Siddaramaiah also alleged that it was a "conspiracy to dislodge a democratically elected government by the BJP, JD(S), and others".

What is the MUDA scam?

The MUDA 50:50 scheme, which was introduced in 2009 but was scrapped in 2020 by the then BJP government, promises land owners 50 percent of the developed land per acre which they give up.

Though it was scrapped in 2020, MUDA continued to allot land under the scheme.

MUDA continued even after the government ordered twice in the last six months asking it to cancel all allotments until clear guidelines are issued.

It is suspected that the sites were alloted to influential people and real estate agents instead of giving them to the eligible beneficiaries.