Mining Report to be Submitted on Jul 27, Yeddyurappa Adamant
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Jul 25: Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining which has had everyone biting their nails ahead of its formal submission, will have to wait till Wednesday July 27.
Justice Hegde said that he would submit the report to the government on Wednesday, adding that much of the report has already been leaked.
Meanwhile, soon after his return from a holiday in Mauritius on Monday July 25, chief minister Yeddyurappa wrote a letter to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari insisting that he would not resign from his post. He also reportedly urged Gadkari to form a committee under the chairmanship of national BJP general secretary H N Anantakumar, his political rival within the party, to look into the development works initiated by his government.
He also asked him to direct the committee to investigate the charges of illegal mining, land dealings and other allegations against him.
On his arrival in Bangalore on Monday, he said that he was confident of continuing as CM for the remainder of his term.
He was accompanied by several of his ministers, MLAs and also state BJP president Eshwarappa. He is expected to address the press later in the evening.
He also took potshots at JD(S) leaders H D Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy and said that they were feeling insecure on the prospect of him continuing as the CM, and that they fear losing their 'vote-bank' if he remained in power.
He also reiterated that once the Lokayukta submits the report, he would answer all charges against him point-by-point.
The exhaustive mining report indicts over 500 infleuntial names in the state, including that of chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, his ministers, JD(S) chief Kumaraswamy and some Congress leaders. The report states that the exchequer incurred a loss of Rs 1,800 crore since March 2009 due to illegal mining. Justice Hegde reportedly has also recommended probe against all those named in the report.
The repurcussions of the report may be several. While on the one hand Yeddyurappa ruled out his resignation, BJP national vice-president Shanta Kumar dashed off a letter to party president Nitin Gadkari and senior leader L K Advani recommending Yeddyurappa's dismissal to save party's image. The BJP is divided over what action to take against Yeddyurappa, as, while the CM was responsible for forming the first BJP government in South India, at the same time his remaining in power may hamper BJP's anti-corruption campaign against the UPA.
Yeddyurappa had also earlier said that he would step down provided that others from his party, particularly his confidant and energy minister Shobha Karandlaje is chosen in his stead. However, his own party members are unhappy with this condition.
There are also chances that Yeddyurappa may dissolve the legislature and go in for fresh polls.
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