Yeddyurappa denies wrongdoing in sons’ land deals

BANGALORE - Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa Monday asserted that no wrong has been done or law broken in his sons getting prime land in and around Bangalore.

“There is no violation of any rule or law,” he told a crowded press conference here responding to media reports of his family members being favoured in land deals.

An automobile component manufacturing company in which his two sons are directors was given two acres of prime industrial plot at Jigani on Bangalore’s outskirts within 15 days of applying for it in 2007. Yeddyurappa was deputy chief minister then.

His two sons are B.Y. Vijeyendra and B.Y. Raghavendra, who became BJP Lok Sabha member winning the 2009 polls from Shimoga, Yeddyurappas home town.

Yeddyurappa also insisted no wrong has been done in allotting from the chief ministers discretionary quote a prime residential site of 4,000 square feet in Bangalore to Raghavendra even though he owned two residential properties.

The chief minister had a tough time answering questions on why Raghavendra sought permission from the Bangalore Development Authority to sell the site within months of allotment.

He acknowledged it was a mistake and since the BDA had rejected Raghavendras plea, a house was now being constructed on the plot.

Yeddyurappa gave details of the residential plots allotted by various chief ministers in the last 10 years under their discretionary quota.

He said since coming to power in May 2008, he had allotted 136 plots to various people including politicians from different parties.

His predecessor H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal-Secular had allotted 285 sites during his 20-month rule while Congress chief ministers Dharam Singh and S.M. Krishna had given 76 and 334 sites respectively.

Singh preceded Kumaraswamy and his government lasted only 20 months while Krishna completed the full term of five years from 1999-2004.