Bangalore: Now Yeddy demands judicial probe Into mining scam since 1999

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Jun 7: It is now the turn of former chief minister and KJP State President B S Yeddyurappa, who is facing court cases from CBI and Lokayukta and even underwent jail term, to demand a judicial inquiry commission into all the mining licences issued from 1999 till date.

''The judicial inquiry commission has to be instituted to so that the people know the truth,” he said participating in the debate in the Legislative Assembly on the motion of thanks to Karnatka Governor H R Bhardwaj for his address to the State Legislature.

“I was made to spend 24 days in jail for checking illegal mining. There is no instance of sending anybody to jail without proven guilty,” Yeddyurappa claimed.

The KJP leader said he took a bold step to ban illegal mining and imposed restriction on export of iron ore only to lose the chief ministership.

''But the price I had to pay is that I was made an accused,” he said and contended that it was not by Congress or Janata Dal (Secular) leaders but by his own partymen.

The former chief minister said: ''Under my tenure, barely three mining licences were issued. Whereas it was 16 licenses during the tenure of S M Krishna, 20 by N Dharm Singh and 22 by H D Kumaraswamy.”

''Our BJP leaders went by the Lokayukta report on illegal mining by the then Lokayuktha Justice Santosh Hegde and forced me to resign. Let the government place the Justice Santosh Hegde report in the Assembly for a full debate so that truth will come out,” he demanded.

Training his guns on his former BJP colleagues, Yeddyurappa said those BJP leaders who were with him while in power, betrayed him later.

Every BJP leader held him responsible for illegal mining, denotification, allotment of G category sites and allotment of industrial land by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board, the former chief minister said.

In fact, Yeddyurappa said all the previous chief ministers have allotted sites under 'G' category and denotified land while he allotted sites to all siteless legislators and MPs irrespective of their political parties.

''In the process, even those who owned own houses and sites also got sites,” he said

The BJP leaders raised hue and cry when a site was allotted to his son and Shimoga MP B Y Raghavendra, which was ultimately surrendered to BDA, he said and challenged the BJP leaders and all his critics to come clean on the sites secured by them in and around Bangalore.

Stating that he was forced to narrate his sad plight (Karma Kathe) before the House, Yeddyurappa ruled out going back to BJP and said his immediate task was to strengthen KJP.

With changes expected at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls, he was thinking of becoming part of the third front distinct from Congress and BJP, he said.

The KJP leader did not spare even the media and said both the print and visual media carried out a systematic attack on him to tarnish his image.

''The State Governor, His Excellency Hans Raj Bhardwaj, BJP leaders and Justice Santosh Hegde wanted to destabilize my government by removing me from the CM's post,” he said and said that he was ultimately summoned by the BJP national leaders to Delhi and forced to resign within three days after the Lokayukha report was out.

Citing his own example, Yeddyurappa advised Siddaramaiah to be careful about people surrounding him and said the Congress high command may not allow him to continue after Lok Sabha polls.

For that reason, the KJP leader said Sidddaramaiah was probably in a great hurry to announce new programmes such as rice at Re 1 per kg.

“I personally want you to complete full five years,” he said and in an indirect reference to Congress Vokkaliga leader D K Shivakumar mentioned that ''a few legislators not taking oath till date” at being denied ministerial berth indicated that all was not well in the Congress party.

Seeking to rub salt into the wounds of Congressmen, he said another Vokkaliga leader and former Deputy Leader of the Congress legislature party under Siddaramaiah like T B Jayachandra should have been given a better portfolio so that his talents and abilities were fully utilized. The former Speaker and an able parliamentarian Rameshkumar should have been inducted into the Cabinet.

The Congress party’s leader of the house in the legislative council S R Patil, a capable Lingayat community leader from northern Karnataka, was inducted into the cabinet much later when it became necessary that only an MLC could hold that position. But again, S R Patil was given the IT/BT portfolio and the IT/BT stalwarts had initially criticized the move. Even a non-controversial and capable leader like Abhayachandra Jain was made a minister of State with fisheries and youth services portfolio not respecting his religious sensibilities.

''There are rumblings and discontent within the Congress party, though the chief minister enjoys the party high command’s support at the moment. But there is trouble ahead and the present indications within the party are not a good sign. Don't believe everybody and anybody as they may betray you at a right time as happened in my case,” he advised.