Karnataka CM's son, daughter surrender plots

BANGALORE: Amid mounting opposition pressure on Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to quit following the controversy on allocation of prime urban land to his family members, the BJP leader's son and daughter have surrendered their plots in the city.

Official sources said B Y Raghavendra, MP, submitted a letter to the Bangalore Development Authority surrendering 50 X 80 feet plot allotted to him in the upscale R M V Extension.

The embattled Chief Minister's daughter, Umadevi, sought cancellation of two acres of industrial land alloted to her near Harohalli by the Karnataka Industrial Development Board, sources said.

Two relatives of Yeddyurappa, who had been allotted sites by BDA, also surrendered them, they said.

The move comes a day after the state cabinet ordered a judicial probe into allotment of land in the last ten years, that also covers the rule of S M Krishna, now External Affairs Minister, Dharam Singh (both of Congress) and H D Kumaraswamy of JDS.

Yeddyurappa is likely to meet the BJP high command along with state leaders at Delhi tomorrow to discuss the alleged land scams which have surfaced at a time when the party is going all out against the UPA government on the issue of corruption.

The Chief Minister had initially justified his actions, saying he had not violated any rule and his predecessors had also denotified lands and allotted plots, some on a much larger scale.