Muda chief, an aide of Sidda, quits citing health grounds

BENGALURU: Capping days of speculation, K Marigowda resigned on Wednesday as chairman of crisis-ridden Mysore Urban Development Authority ( Muda ), saying he was not healthy enough to continue in the role and was quitting at the CM's request.

A trusted aide of Siddaramaiah for decades, Marigowda called on CM at his Cauvery residence for a brief discussion in the morning. From there, he drove directly to Vikasa Soudha and handed in his resignation to Deepa Cholan , secretary, urban development department.

The outgoing chairman said Siddaramaiah "is our leader, and we have been together for 40 years. He made me president of taluk and zilla panchayats. CM has never asked us to indulge in illegal activities."

Marigowda said CM "instructed" him to resign though there was no pressure from any quarter, including urban development minister Byrathi Suresh . "My health is not good. I've suffered two strokes and I'm not healthy enough to continue in my role," Marigowda said.

Denying that he quit due to ongoing investigations into allotment of 14 Muda residential sites to the CM's wife, Parvathi , in an upscale Mysuru locality in a controversial land-swap deal, Marigowda said the ongoing investigation will bring out the truth.