Yeddy steady, Reddys to go?

The much-awaited report on illegal mining was submitted at long last and it doesn't name the CM directly. However Reddy brothers have been indicted in the scam

Yeddy steady, Reddys to go?

The much-awaited report on illegal mining was submitted at long last and it doesn't name the CM directly. However Reddy brothers have been indicted in the scam

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The final Lokayukta report on illegal mining has not recommended removal of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, while there is a clear recommendation to remove three ministers -- G Janardana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy and Sriramulu. Interestingly, V Somanna's name finds no mention in the report, although Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hedge said in the press conference after submitting the report to the chief secretary yesterday that the minister's name was implicated in connection with the irregularities done by Mathah Minerals, in which his sons have a minor stake.

In a hurry
Speaking to MiD DAY, a source who read the report after it was submitted said, "I think Hegde has not read the report prepared by U V Singh and his team in detail before it was submitted. It was a rush at the eleventh hour; naturally he didn't have time to go through it in detail. However, the content of the report is more important than what he said at the press conference."u00a0Sources close to the CM said that Hegde, whose earlier plan was to submit the report on August 1, advanced its submission at the behest of senior BJP leader L K Advani, who is particular about the ouster of Yeddyurappa. Advani is reportedly keen so that the party high command could take the decision to remove the CM well before the monsoon session of parliament starts on August 1. Hegde admitted Somanna's name was not mentioned in the report, but said, "I know he is not directly indicted. His sons are involved in the Matah Minerals affair and when you are in public office, you as the head of the family, are responsible for the wrong-doings of your family members."

Read a part?
Hegde denied that he had not read the report before signing it, but said, "I can't say I read each and every letter in the report. However, I know that important factors have not entered it without my knowledge."
He laughed off the allegations of advancing the submission at the insistence of Advani, saying the date was his own choice. Regarding not recommending the removal of Yeddyurappa he said, "I see his family's involvement in some illegalities and I have referred it to the Governor for action under Prevention of Corruption Act. I have not recommended his removal."

Not in picture
Two cases involving his sons B Y Ragahavendra and B Y Vijendra were mentioned. These concerned a steel company donating Rs 10 crore to Prerana Trust run by the CM's sons. The other was regarding his family members selling a 1-acre piece of land worth Rs 1.45 crore at Rachenahalli, to a mining company for Rs 20 crore. Since no direct involvement of Yeddyurappa was found in these two cases, the Lokayukta chose not to recommend his removal, otherwise he would have done so under Section 13 of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act.

Not so lucky
However, the Reddy brothers and their close aide Health Minister Sriramulu did not get off that easily.
"So far, the Reddys were maintaining that they had no business interests in the state. However, we have found their involvement in illegal mining within the state boundary and have recommended strict action against them," said Hegde. While sources in the BJP said the report has put the Bellary mining lords in trouble, Yeddyurappa was using this to his advantage. Amidst speculations that he was asked to step down by the party high command, Yeddyurappa rushed to Delhi last night. Before leaving he said, "The case mentioned regarding my family members is older. These issues are pending in the court among others. My name has not been mentioned in the report directly and there is no question of tendering my resignation." Advocate General Ashok Harnahalli was taken along to convince the party highu00a0 command about this, while the party has entrusted Arun Jaitley and Ravishankar Prasad to advise on the legal issues of the report.

Serious thought
"We will go through the report before taking further steps. We can't say what the party should do regarding the change in leadership in Karnataka," said Prasad. However, party insiders said that senior leaders were seriously thinking of removing Yeddyurappa, while the CM was ready with a counter strategy. He is understood to have threatened to dissolve the assembly in case he is forced to step down and has called for an emergency cabinet meeting at 3.30 pm tomorrow. A source said, "If he is allowed to continue, he would conduct the cabinet meeting, or it will be cancelled. Otherwise, he will come back to Bangalore to seek the support of the cabinet colleagues and legislators to dissolve the government."

Disappointing for some
Frontline crusaders against illegal mining are disappointed with the Lokayukta's final report as it is milder on Yeddyurappa than expected, while forgetting the wrongdoings of former CM S M Krishna. S R Hiremat and Vishnu Kamat, the petitioners on whose PIL the SC has constituted the Central Empowered Committee to probe illegal mining in the state, had expected more from the report considering the gravity of the issue.u00a0 While welcoming the report terming it as historic, they expressed disappointment specifically on the issues relating to Yeddyurappa and Krishna. "The de-reservation policy of forest land for mining is the main cause for the illegal mining, and it was done when Krishna was CM. I am surprised why the report made recommendation for cancelling the government orders in this regard," said Vishnu Kamat. Hiremat, who represents the NGO Samaja Parivarthana Samudaya said, "No doubt the report is historic as it is a voluminous document on illegal mining. The Lokayukta team has used the records we have supplied. But, we had expected more from it and therefore we can say we are a bit disappointed."

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