New Delhi:
The man who was one-half of the BJP's Karnataka headache is now in the midst of a new crisis.
Janardhan Reddy has been asked to stop mining in Andhra Pradesh by a panel set up by the Supreme Court. It's now up to the court, which is likely to review the matter next week, to take a final decision on the issue.
Reddy is the Tourism Minister in Karnataka's BJP government.
The Supreme Court's panel has been examining allegations that Reddy's mining is carrying out large-scale illegal mining in reserved forest areas. The panel has also slammed the Andhra Pradesh government for trying to disguise this information.
In a report submitted to the Supreme Court, the panel has recommended that an independent team of experts demarcate forests from areas for permissible mining. Till that happens, mining should stop. The panel also wants Reddy to be fined a hefty amount equivalent to the value of the iron ore that he has allegedly extracted from the area not covered by his mining lease.
The Andhra government had earlier said that no Reddy's firm was not guilty of any illegal mining. . The panel's response: "the objectivity, fairness and impartiality which is expected from a State government is shockingly lacking here and does not inspire confidence."
Earlier this month, Janardhan Reddy and his brother, Karunakaran, almost forced a split in the BJP government in Karnataka. The Reddy brothers, mining barons from Bellary, and cabinet ministers, wanted the chief minister, B S Yeddyurappya, to be sacked. They claimed that he's dictatorial; critics of the Reddys said they wanted to dictate larger terms to the government to further their business interests.
After days of embarrassment and negotiations, a compromise was reached. Yeddyurappa stayed on as chief minister, but had to sack one of his protégés and replace her with a Reddys-backed minister.