Daijiworld Media Network – Bellary (SP)

Bellary, Apr 5: State Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa, has dismissed reports in a section of the press, which have claimed that the state government had received a letter from the central government, asking it to entrust illegal mining case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “There is no illegal mining in the state. Hence there is no necessity of a CBI inquiry, Yeddyurappa stressed.

“I have read the media reports which say that central minister for mines, B K Handique, had written to the state, drawing our attention to the irregular mining operations of Obalapuram Mining Company. The reports also have alleged that the minister has asked the state government to hand over this case to the CBI. As an inquiry on the operations of the said company is already in progress by forest officials under the instructions of the centre, I do not see why the state would be asked to conduct CBI inquiry,” he analyzed, speaking to reporters at the Torangal airport near here on Sunday April 4.

Yeddyurappa said that there is no proposal for the immediate expansion of the cabinet or shuffling of the chairmen of boards and corporations. “Even after the BBMP results are out, we will not be taking up these issues on priority,” he clarified. On the issue of milk price rise, he informed that milk prices will marginally go up because of escalating costs, and decried state Congress president, R V Deshpande’s statement that the Congress will organize protests against this move.

Minister Janardan Reddy said that investigations will unveil full details of the assault on miner Tapal Ganesh and a few journalists in Bellary recently. “Tapal Ganesh is a good, innocent person. But, people belonging to the JDS and the Congress have been trying to misuse his simplicity, for hatching conspiracies against us. The people of the district know that the said assault was stage-managed by the Congress and JDS leaders from the district with criminal records.” Let the investigations be held. Let the truth come out, he added.