Belikeri iron ore & Lok Ayukta’s resignation stalls Assembly for Day 2
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network

Bangalore, Jul 1: For the second consecutive day, proceedings in the Karnataka legislative assembly were stalled on Wednesday with the combined Congress and JD(S) opposition members insisting on debating the resignation of Lok Ayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde and the illegal mining plus export of iron ore seized in the Belikeri port in Uttara Kannada district in the form of an adjournment motion.

The B S Yeddyurappa regime’s offer for a threadbare discussion on the entire issue in a different form rather than in the form of an adjournment motion, which carries an element of censure, and the opposition members’ refusal to accept the offer made by the treasury benches or the ruling BJP resulted in a stalemate as members belonging to both Congress and JD(S) , who had staged a dharna immediately after question hour on Tuesday, continued their protest as soon as the house assembled on Wednesday.

With neither the opposition nor the ruling party as well as the treasury benches refusing to budge from their rigid positions, the Assembly speaker K G Bopaiah had no alternative but to adjourn the house. A meeting convened by the speaker in his chamber did not succeed in breaking the deadlock.

The Congress and JD(S) members insisted  that they wanted a discussion in the form of an adjournment motion as it provided for a voting and therefore gave an opportunity for all members to declare their stand. It also enabled the people to judge for themselves and ascertain where their elected representatives stood. The discussion under Rule 69 as suggested by the treasxury benches did not provide for voting and therefore was inconsequential, the opposition members argued.

On Wednesday, an unrelenting opposition continued their Tuesday’s dharna, repeatedly appealing to the Speaker to reconsider his decision, while rejecting pleas by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar to respect the Chair’s
ruling.

As noisy scenes continued, the Speaker then adjourned the House for the day.

The Congress opposition  leader Siddaramaiah alleged that the Government was directly responsible for the resignation of Justice Hegde and “the State’s natural resources are not safe in the hands of the Chief Minister,” who is holding forest and mining portfolios.  Justice Hegde’s resignation was a setback in the fight against corruption.

Iron ore worth Rs. 2500 crore had been looted and allowed to export by the Government without valid permits. The Speaker was declined to reconsider his decision because he had been influenced by the government, the Congress alleged.

Congress party’s deputy leader  T B Jayachandra, who read out a report published in
the daily, said the Government in its petition to the Karnataka High Court has admitted that nearly 35 lakh tones of ore was illegally stored and exported from Karwar and Belekeri ports.

Intervening in the debate, the chief minister declared that the government was ready for a
detailed debate for any number of days as the resignation by the Lokayukta has hurt the image of the BJP and there was a need for the people to know the truth about the entire episode.

``Why the Opposition wanted to debate the issue only under Rule 60 (Adjournment motion) and why not under Rule 69,” Yeddyurappa asked.

The chief minister contended that illegal mining was going on for the last 10 years. The Government was ready for a new legislation to check looting of natural resources by a few. In 2007-08, 47.38 lakh tonnes of iron ore was looted without permits. Instead of allowing the House to discuss
the issue, the Opposition was creating a controversy to confuse the pubic, he said.

Siddaramaih, who spoke to reporters outside the assembly, demanded Yeddyurappa’s resignation, terming the state’s admission regarding illegal export of more than 35 lakh tonnes of iron
ore, as the “biggest scam Karnataka has ever witnessed.’’

He pointed out that Yeddyurappa holds the portfolios of forest, mines and geology as well as finance and the latter had claimed that there was no illegal mining in the state.

Earlier in the House, admitting that the state was in the process of filing the affidavit in the court, Yeddyurappa said large-scale illegal mining had been taking place in Karnataka for the last 10 years.

In 2007—08 alone, more than 47 lakh tonnes of iron ore were exported from the state without licence, he said underscoring the need for thorough probe. “There should be a comprehensive enquiry. Those who indulge in illegal mining should be punished. We will not side with anybody,” he said.

Referring to the continued dharna of the Opposition, Yeddyurappa said their conduct gave rise to suspicion that their intention was not to discuss the Lokayukta’s issue but to create confusion in the minds of the people.

Yeddyurappa also said that when the Ramakrishna Hegde government came out with an amendment withdrawing suo motu powers to Lok Ayukta, Justice Hegde was Advocate General of the state.

Siddaramaiah said majority of the people of the state and intellectuals believed the resignation of the Lok Ayukta was a setback for the fight against corruption.

He said hundreds of corrupt government officials trapped by Lok Ayukta officials had been reinstated and the Lok Ayukta had complained of  “non-cooperation” from the government.

The state government, which was ‘disrespectful’ to Justice Hegde, created a “situation” for him to resign, Siddaramaiah said, adding “Sentiment of the people is that he should continue in office.”

Siddaramaiah described Hegde’s resignation as “murder of democracy” and “break-down of Constitution.’’ Justice Hegde’s resignation would create a “vaccum’’ and put an end to the drive against corruption and probity in public life, he added.