'Apologise, Hold your Tongue or Face Defamation suit' BJP Leaders Warn Ugrappa
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, July 21: Tender an unconditional apologise for leveling allegations against Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his family’s role in the illegal transportation and storage of iron ore at Belekeri port and learn to hold your tongue is the stern warning held out by senior BJP ministers and party leaders to Congress leader V S Ugrappa.
"We will file defamation suit against Ugrappa, if he failed to immediately tender an apology,” declared State BJP ministers Katta Subramanya Naidu, B N Bache Gowda, C M Udasi, and BJP spokesperson V Dhananjaya Kumar, who is also the Governments’ Special Representative in Delhi, and S Shivanagouda, BJP MP from Koppal.
Claiming that the charges leveled by the former Congress opposition leader in the state Legislative Council were totally baseless and lacked any substance, the BJP leaders said Ugrappa should control his tongue and level charges backed with documents.
"Instead of indulging in lose talk and leveling wild and unfounded allegations, Ugrappa should have challenged the alleged involvement of the Chief Minister in illegal mining in the court,’’ they said.
Taking a cue from Bellary mining lord and tourism and infrastructure minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, who incidentally is the main target of the opposition’s campaign on the alleged illegal mining issue and had attacked Congress MLC, K C Kondaiah, as a ``broker” on the floor of the Legislative Council and outside, the BJP leaders dubbed both Ugrappa and Kondaiah as ``brokers of the Baldota mining group.”
They claimed that Ugrappa ``built a huge bungalow in the city by being hand-in-glove with miners from Bellary district.”
Illegal mining and illegal storage of iron ore at the port rocked the state legislature which adjourned sine die following protests by the Opposition.
``Ugrappa always indulged in hit and run cases in tarnishing the image of his political opponents and such tactics would not bring any reputation to him and his party,” Katta Subramanya Naidu said.
With the government handing over entire probe into illegal mining scam to the Lokayukta, Dhananjaya Kumar said the BJP has called for a halt to the acrimonious debate among rival political parties on the issue. “There should be an end to this discussion,” he contended.
The BJP leaders rebutted allegations levelled against the Chief Minister and the Bellary Reddy brothers on the mining scam. The BJP would henceforth not respond to allegations made by rival political parties on the issue. The opposition parties wanted to make news every day and trying to create confusion in the minds of the people, he alleged.
The former union minister and Mangalore MP appealed to former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President R V Deshpande to hand over all the documents available with them to Lokayukta, which was conducting probe into illegal mining in the State.
Deshpande wants CBI probe into illegal export of Rs 2,000 cr worth Granite:
Meanwhile, KPCC president R V Deshpande at a separate news conference urged the Chief Minister to refer the alleged illegal export of granite worth Rs 2,000 crore from Karwar and Mangalore ports also to the CBI.
Yeddyurappa should get a report from the Department of Mines and Geology on the extent of illegal export of granite and also give details of officers who allegedly colluded in the process and the politicians who benefitted from it, Deshpande demanded.
Asked for his comments on the stand taken by the Election Commission before the Karnataka High Court on the notice it served to the Tourism and Infrastructure Development Minister Janardhana Reddy on the ``office of profit’’ issue, he said the poll panel`s statement was a slap on his face and vindicated the Congress demand.
The KPCC President criticised BJP leaders for threatening thesenior Congress leader Ugrappa about filing defamation suit against him for his charges on the Chief Minister on the disappearance of 5 lakh tonnes of iron ore from Belekeri port.
Ugrappa, he said, had been taking up such people`s issues for a long time and he could not be intimidated by the ruling party.
Incidentally, seven committees of KPCC are preparing the road map for the 16-day ``Bellary chalo” campaign commencing from July 25 against the illegal mining of iron ore. It is said that senior party leaders including Central ministers have been invited for the padayatra to address party workers and people along the route, Deshpande added.