Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Jun 4: The deadline given by the state Governor, H R Bhardwaj, to the Reddy brothers from Bellary, G Janardan Reddy and G Somashekhar Reddy, and their friend, B Sriramulu, who happen to be the members of the state cabinet, to present themselves before him to reply to a notice issued earlier by him, expired on Thursday June 3. The notice had been issued by the Governor, based on allegations levelled by a Congress leader, K C Kondaiah, about the Reddys holding offices of profit, involving in illegal mining and encroaching the state’s border.

After scrutinizing the replies furnished by the three through their lawyers, the Governor decided to call for the opinion of the Election Commission. With this, the controversial issue of serving of a notice by the Governor to ministers, stands shifted to the Election Commission.

It may be recalled that Janardan Reddy had openly challenged the Governor’s jurisdiction in the matter of handling of such complaints. He had said that he would not present himself before the Governor. On Thursday, he ensured that his lawyers submitted a written reply to the notice issued by the Governor. Thereupon, the Governor and advocates representing the miners got involved in a marathon discussion lasting three hours. During the discussions, the lawyers pointed out to the Governor that the matter contained in the complaint does not fall under the issue of  ‘positions of profit’, duly supporting their arguments by citing various High Court and Supreme Court judgments on the issue of disqualification of MLAs and ministers.

Advocate, Raghavacharyalu, told the pressmen after meeting the Governor that the lawyers had convinced the Governor that the complaint made to him by the concerned had no substance, and that it was politically motivated. He said that the letter addressed by Kondaiah to the Governor does not fall within the purview of ‘complaint’ as defined in article 191 and 192 of the Indian Constitution and section 9(A) of the People’s Representation Act.  He chose to define the letter as a ‘letter of allegations’, saying that the advocates have submitted a set of documents to prove that the Reddys had not got involved with election irregularities. He exuded confidence that the exchange of views the lawyers had with the Governor will be fruitful in finding a solution to the problem.