BENGALURU: Hours after Union minister HD Kumaraswamy alleged DK Shivakumar‘s wealth rose from Rs 4 crore to Rs 1,444 crore in a decade through the controversial NICE Road project, the Karnataka CM Tuesday night rejected corruption allegations as “a bundle of lies”.“I’m rich, I admit it. Should a son of a farmer who has his own business not build assets?” Shivakumar said, adding his family’s wealth – currently valued at Rs 1,400 crore – is legitimate, built through business and investments. “If possible, we’ll buy more. What’s wrong (in that)? Let them give documents to the income-tax department.”Kumaraswamy alleged Shivakumar, then urban development minister, and NICE chairman Ashok Kheny altered the project’s Framework Agreement in 2004, including additional survey numbers and increasing the saleable area in townships from 45% to 55%. The key objective was to build Bengaluru-Mysuru Infrastructure Corridor.
‘Investment appreciated’: DKS defends 5-crore Sobha stake Citing a Karnataka high court order, Kumaraswamy termed the project “a fraud on the Constitution” and accused state authorities of being “accomplices”. He demanded Shivakumar’s resignation, seizure of his and Kheny’s passports and a probe, and urged commuters not to pay toll on the road.Responding to allegations over his investment in Sobha Developers, Shivakumar said his Rs 5 crore investment had appreciated and that all his assets have been declared. He cited a site purchased for Rs 99,000 during S Bangarappa’s tenure in 1990s that he said is now worth about Rs 20 crore, some 35-plus years later.“Have I taken bribes or has there been a scandal in which I’ve been caught? I’ve every right to do business and my children have the capacity to do more business,” he said.Shivakumar questioned Kumaraswamy’s family’s properties within the NICE corridor and alleged the former CM had attempted to acquire land through an auction in 2007.He said his focus was on ensuring the road benefits Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara and Channapatna.Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byre Gowda defended Shivakumar, asking Kumaraswamy to approach the Centre to cancel the agreement if he believed it was illegal. “You, too, had power when you were chief minister. You did not cancel the agreement with NICE then,” he said.
