Under fire, Kharge’s son withdraws request for land at aerospace park

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Rahul Kharge has withdrawn his request for the allotment of five acres of civic amenity site at an aerospace park in Bengaluru to set up a multi-skill development, training and research centre.

The move comes close on the heels of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi returning the 14 sites to Mysuru Urban Development Authority after the Lokayukta police registered a case against Siddaramaiah, his wife and brother-in-law.

Kharge’s younger son Priyank Kharge, who is a minister in the Karnataka government, shared the information with the scanned copies of the letter on his X handle.

BJP’s IT department in charge Amit Malviya, had in a social media post, questioned the allotment of the site and called it alleged misuse of power, nepotism and conflict of interest. BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya too questioned the decision on X, saying, “When did the Kharge family become aerospace entrepreneurs to be eligible for KIADB land? Is this about misuse of power, nepotism and conflict of interest?”

“The proposed multi-skill development centre aimed primarily to serve youngsters to make them more employable and industry ready with skills and future skills. It was also designed to help students who were unable to pursue college education,” Rahul. The Trust had submitted its proposal to the KIADB on February 12, 2024, and a month later, the proposal was approved.