Kumaraswamy says property is legal

Bangalore, Aug 1 (UNI) Quickly refuting the charge levelled by Congress leader D K Shivakumar with regard to purchase of a property on the city outskirts by his family members, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said it had been acquired through legal means.

When newspersons sought his reaction to the charge, he said he could see through the ''systematic campaign'' to topple his Government. He would not fall prey to such ''khedda'' (trap) operations, but only those sitting in ''glass houses'' and levelling charges against him would en masse soon.

Mr Kumaraswamy claimed that the deal dated back to 2004 and it was registered as per the guidelines. If there was any kind of violation like undervaluation, the complainants could approach the judicial probe ordered into the Rs 150 crore bribery charge levelled against him by Bharatiya Janata Party MLC G Janardhana Reddy.

To a question, he said his family members had raised 85 per cent of the deal amount through bank loans, investors' contribution 12 per cent and the rest was met by the family members. ''We never cheated the Government to buy this property,'' he claimed, stating that the Congress should approach the Income Tax department to know about the funds raised for purchasing the property. Nobody could suppress the truth and there was nothing to hide, he added.

He claimed that the property's worth was Rs 25 crore and not Rs 85 crore as alleged.

Earlier, Mr Shivakumar alleged that the family members of the Chief Minister had bought a huge building, housing an IT park on a 9.72 acre plot, just 51 days after he took over the State's mantle.

He wondered whether the alleged bribe received from the mine owners were invested in it and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the deal.

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