D K Shivakumar speaks to reporters. Image: Supplied.
New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said his assets were worth ₹1,400 crore at current values and had been acquired within the law, while challenging Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy to debate his allegations inside the Assembly rather than on the steps of Vidhana Soudha.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday, September 29, Shivakumar said his property details had been declared to the Income Tax Department and other authorities. He rejected suggestions of wrongdoing and said he and his children were entitled to buy property and pursue business within the law.
“Yes, at today’s value, I have assets worth ₹1,400 crore. I have acquired them within the legal framework,” he said, accusing Kumaraswamy of speaking out of frustration.
Related report: Kumaraswamy’s detailed NICE allegations: changes to agreements, road acreage and family land transactions.
Property appreciation, disclosures and the Sobha allegation
Asked about an allegation that a ₹5-crore investment with Sobha Developers had grown to ₹2,000 crore, Shivakumar defended his right to conduct business and pointed to the appreciation in the value of a plot allotted during the tenure of former Chief Minister S Bangarappa.
He initially described the purchase price as about ₹1 lakh and later specified ₹99,000, saying the plot was now worth ₹20 crore. He asked whether an increase in property value amounted to wrongdoing and rejected suggestions that he had taken bribes or been involved in a scam.
“Is Kumaraswamy an Income Tax officer?” he asked, adding that Kumaraswamy could submit any information he had to the department. Shivakumar said he had declared his assets every year and that the Election Commission and Enforcement Directorate had already examined the details. He said he had no objection to scrutiny by any other agency.
Describing himself as a farmer’s son and a businessman, he said his family had the ability to buy property and did not need to conceal its transactions. He added that his earnings came from his profession and businesses, not from operating garbage trucks.
NICE Road dispute and challenge to debate
Turning to the NICE Road project, Shivakumar claimed that former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had signed off on the project and that Kumaraswamy had subsequently been Chief Minister. He alleged that Kumaraswamy had facilitated a tender for Nikhil Gandhi in 2007 and referred to what he described as judicial criticism and transactions through benami names.
Shivakumar also questioned whether Kumaraswamy’s family held property within the Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor Area Planning Authority jurisdiction, the NICE project area and the Bidadi township project. These were allegations and questions raised by Shivakumar.
Responding to Kumaraswamy’s challenge for a debate on the steps of Vidhana Soudha, he said Kumaraswamy should arrange for a legislator to resign, enter the state legislature and debate the matter inside. He suggested Freedom Park as an alternative venue for an outside debate.
On Kumaraswamy’s statement that he had not supported implementation of the NICE project, Shivakumar asked why toll collection had not been stopped when Kumaraswamy was in power. He said the Union Minister could instead ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop toll collection across the country.
Shivakumar says threats will not deter him
The Chief Minister said he would not be intimidated by what he called empty threats, blackmail or political theatrics. He attributed Kumaraswamy’s remarks to rivalry within the BJP–JD(S) alliance and jealousy over the Congress government’s popularity.
Asked about Kumaraswamy describing his allegations as “part one”, Shivakumar referred to possible further instalments, sting operations and artificial intelligence. He said he had been familiar with such tactics since Chennigappa’s time and alleged that Kumaraswamy had ordered the tapping of the phones of Balagangadharanatha Swami and Nirmalanandanatha Swami.
Shivakumar said he had not been afraid when Kumaraswamy was Chief Minister and would not be afraid now. In a personal attack, he also questioned Kumaraswamy’s relations with his father and brothers. He said he did not expect goodwill from him and was responding only because reporters had sought his reaction.
Yathindra complaint, education policy and contractors’ dues
On a Lokayukta complaint against legislator Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar dismissed the allegation of ₹444 crore in irregularities as false and baseless. He questioned how such wrongdoing could have occurred within only a few months of Yathindra taking office.
Explaining his Delhi visit, Shivakumar said a meeting had discussed education policy and measures to prevent examination malpractice and question-paper leaks. He named Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and K C Venugopal among the participants, along with ministers and Chief Ministers from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh.
He said the party leadership had called for transparency in examinations, including those conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission, and that the state was committed to education reforms through a Cabinet subcommittee headed by Minister U T Khader. He also alleged that attempts were being made in some states to introduce BJP ideology into textbooks.
Asked about the contractors’ association seeking release of ₹38,000 crore in pending payments, Shivakumar blamed the volume of works sanctioned by the earlier B S Yediyurappa government for the financial burden. He acknowledged that the situation was difficult but said appropriate steps would be taken to address it.
Related: Kumaraswamy alleges Shivakumar’s SIR protest aims to divert attention from the NICE row.
Latest development: Karnataka CEO directs inquiry before action against applicants submitting knowingly false voter forms; read the full letter.
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