Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: March 27, 2004
Independent MLC Arun Machaiah on
Friday urged chief minister S.M. Krishna to drop Muzrai minister Suma Vasanth
from the ministry as her department had allegedly sold or leased out muzrai
property for commercial purposes violating the law.
Machaiah told reporters, "The minister
has violated the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable
Endowments Act, 1997 in selling and leasing the properties of temples of
the department. The Congress should not give her a ticket for the coming
Assembly elections.''
Giving details, Machaiah said the
Act had been violated in granting license to set up IOC and HPCL petrol
bunks on survey numbers 63/2 and 63/3 owned by the Banashankari temple
here. Similarly, a petrol bunk was allotted on survey number 1407 belonging
to the Kadumalleshwara temple in Malleshwaram. The licences to set up petrol
bunks have been issued to the same individual in both cases.
Charges denied: When contacted,
muzrai minister Suma Vasanth denied the allegations and said they were
baseless and politically motivated. "The department has complied with the
Act and the rules. There has been no violation. In several occasions, we
have leased land to protect our properties from encroachments,'' she told
The Times of India.
