The Janata Dal (Secular) on Wednesday withdrew from a Bengaluru-Mysuru march planned by its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, to highlight the alleged irregularities in the distribution of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, reported PTI.

The alleged scam pertains to the allotment of Mysuru Urban Development Authority sites to the wife of Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah.

The foot march against the alleged irregularities is slated from August 3 to August 10.

The decision by the Janata Dal (Secular) came after its leader HD Kumaraswamy said that his party was not taken into confidence on the matter. The Union minister also criticised the BJP for picking Preetham Gowda, a former BJP MLA from Hassan district to be among those given the responsibility to lead the protest, reported PTI.

The minister accused Gowda of being the main person behind the distribution of pen drives that contained video clips of the alleged sexual abuse by former Janata Dal (Secular) MP from Hassan and his nephew Prajwal Revanna.

Revanna is currently under police custody.

“He [Preetham Gowda] is the one who tried to destroy the HD Devegowda family,” Kumaraswamy told reporters on Wednesday. “They [BJP] bring him on stage and make him sit with me. Who is responsible for the distribution of those pen drives [in Prajwal Revanna sexual abuse case]? Don’t they [BJP] know what happened in Hassan? Electoral alliance is different and politics is different.”

The party will also not provide moral support to the march, Kumaraswamy clarified. “The issue can be fought legally,” he said. “If we undertake the padayatra now, people may question us.”

He also added that his party feels that it is not the right time to carry out a protest march in the light of rains and the sowing season, among other reasons.

“The whole state has been shaken by rains, landslides, floods and crop destruction,” he added. “There is a possibility of getting criticism from people if you do protest march in such a difficult situation. It is for this reason that we have withdrawn from the protest march.”