Ready for a probe into land allotment: Yeddyurappa

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday he was ready to order a judicial probe into the charges of denotification and allotment of land and sites, including those to a firm in which his two sons are partners.

Talking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said he was ready to order the probe by a retired Supreme Court judge if the opposition agreed.

Admitting that he allotted land to his sons and also a residential plot in Bengaluru to his MP son B Y Raghavendra, Yeddyurappa said they were done in accordance with rules and procedures.

He also slammed the opposition for its "malicious propaganda" to damage the image of his family by "levelling baseless and trivial charges" and sought to turn the tables on them by "exposing" some cases involving the Opposition.

To a pointed query whether he would step down following the footsteps of former Maharastra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who was eased out by Congress, Yeddyurappa shot back, "There is no comparison of my actions to the Adarsh Housing Society scam".

Justifying the denotification of land favouring his family members and allotment of two acres to a firm of which his two sons are partners, he said, "These have been done under the special provisions which has been in practice for several years and similar decisions were made by earlier governments."