This Article is From Jul 28, 2011

Defiant Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa won't resign despite Hegde report

Defiant Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa won't resign despite Hegde report
Bangalore: BS Yeddyurappa's exit as Chief Minister from Karnataka has possibly been scripted in the report on illegal mining that was presented on Thursday by Santosh Hegde to the Karnataka government. Mr Hegde has recommended that the Chief Minister be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act. (Watch: Yeddyurappa, family involved in illegal mining, says Justice Hegde)

Within minutes of Mr Hegde going public with his charges against the Chief Minister and his family, Mr Yeddyurappa left for Delhi on a chartered flight to discuss his political future with BJP leaders.

On his arrival in Delhi, an defiant Mr Yeddyurappa said,"There is a 3 pm cabinet meeting tomorrow. After going through details I will formulate my respone. There is nothing new in the report. The question of resigning does not arise."  Mr Yeddyurappa is meeting BJP President Nitin Gadkari. Senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley are also present at the meeting. (Watch)

He's unlikely, sources say, to find a sympathetic audience. Speaking to NDTV, BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said,"Illegal mining is wrong. There is no doubt about it. The party will take a judicious decision that's expected of us." (Watch: Yeddyurappa, the man with the political six-pack)

Mr Hegde is the Lokayukta or ombudsman of Karnataka.  His report -10,000 pages that filled two steel trunks - says that between 2006 and 2010 the state lost Rs. 16,085 crores because of illegal mining. It indicts Mr Yeddyurappa and his children for illicit relations with mining companies. (Watch: Who is BS Yeddyurappa?)

Other senior politicians  are also found guilty of sanctioning or participating in illegal mining.  They include former Chief Minister and Opposition leader  HD Kumaraswamy; the Reddy brothers - Janardhana and Karunakara -  who are mining barons and cabinet ministers; and Congress MP Anil Lad. (Read: Bellary - Mined over and over again by Karnataka politicians)

The charges against Mr Yeddyurappa are so grim that even his famed skills for political survival are unlikely to save the day.  Mr Hegde  finds that a  trust fund run by the Chief Minister's family in his home area of Shimoga received Rs. 10 crore from  a company dealing in iron-ore .  The donor was not financially stable, and borrowed the money it paid the Trust.   The Lokayukta also says that a mining company  purchased an acre of land for Rs 20 crore from the Trust,  whereas the land was not worth more than Rs 1.25 crore. Mr Hegde described this as "an abnormal payment" and said,"We have come to an incontrovertible conclusion that this donation and sale consideration has been made for reasons other than genuine reasons."

Mr Hegde said that he has come to the conclusion that there "is a possible offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act" and he has asked Governor HR Bhardwaj to decide what action needs to be taken now against the Chief Minister and the other politicians he has faulted. Mr Bhardwaj has publicly and frequently clashed with the BJP government and has in the past recommended that Mr Yeddyurappa be dismissed and President's Rule be introduced in Karnataka.

Will BJP Act Against Yeddyurappa?


Perhaps unwilling to let his party be the sole arbiter of his political fate, Mr Yeddyurappa spent the night at the Tirumala Temple in Tirupati. After he returned to Bangalore this morning, he said he had woken up in a good mood.  He was also confident that "Lord Balaji and all the other gods are with me because I am doing good work." (Watch: Yeddyurappa on Tirupati visit)

But the BJP may find it hard to accept that line. In the past, it has ignored the allegations of corruption and nepotism that have become damning basics against Mr Yeddyurappa.  Now, however,  the BJP wants to rev up its attack against the UPA over corruption in the monsoon session of parliament which starts next week. Mr Yeddyurappa's continued presence in office could lead to some serious gear-grinding. 

A helpful indication came via the Congress today.  Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said, "Not only is Mr Yeddyurappa heading one of the most corrupt governments in any state in India, but the entire BJP leadership, it seems, are the beneficiaries of illegal mining. There are media reports that BJP leader Sushma Swaraj made Reddy brothers mining ministers. She has officially said that they became ministers when Mr Arun Jaitley was in charge.This shows that the whole national leadership of the BJP is hands-in-glove in the illegal mining."

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