BJP Accuses Mallikarjun Kharge, Family of Misusing Public Land for Private Trust
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday accused Mallikarjun Kharge, President of the Indian National Congress, and his family of misusing public land in Karnataka. The allegations involve the Siddharth Vihara Trust, which the BJP claims is linked to the Kharge family.
BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari alleged that several acres of government and industrial land in Bengaluru, Gulbarga, and Banashankari were allotted to the trust in the name of aerospace, defence, and Pali research. Bhandari claimed that the trust had no actual work in these fields and that Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank Kharge used their political influence to transfer land belonging to the poor, farmers, and the public to their private trust.
Bhandari specifically alleged that in 2024, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) allotted five acres of land to the trust, which he described as a case of land-grabbing.
In response, Priyank Kharge, a Karnataka cabinet minister, denied any wrongdoing. He questioned, "If there was wrongdoing, why am I not in jail?"
The Congress party has not issued an official statement on the matter.
