In Bellary, the dusty core of the mining industry in Karnataka, the rich get richer and the poor continue to live in squalor, say locals.
Karunakar Reddy's decision to stick with the BJP despite odds has earned him a party ticket. But the BJP has been cautious in not fielding him from Bellary. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A special CBI court in Hyderabad convicted former Karnataka minister and MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy and three others in the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) illegal iron ore mining case after a prolonged trial spanning nearly 14 years. The court sentenced them to seven years' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on each. Reddy was named accused number two. The court imposed a Rs 1 lakh fine on the company. The CBI took Reddy and others into custody soon after the judgment.
With the arrest of Bellary mining magnate Janardhan Reddy by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the focus has now shifted to the Obulapuram Mining Company, the lease for which was granted by the Andhra Pradesh government then led by Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy.
Three mine owners, on whose plea the Supreme Court recently stayed mining operations of a company owned by the powerful Reddy brothers--who are Karnataka ministers, were attacked on Monday by an eight-member gang in Bellary.
'BJP was always there in my blood, but due to some reasons I had gone out, but today I feel I have come back to my mother's lap. Looking at my brothers here, I don't feel like I'm coming back to the BJP office after 13 years'
Vicky Nanjappa reports on the sharp economic differences that prevail in Bellary despite its riches and resources
Sriramulu proved that Bellary belongs to none other than the Reddy brothers. He won the Bellary (rural) bypoll by a thumping 46,790 votes.
With the Congress' 'Bellary Chalo' march in protest against the BJP government's "failure" to check illegal mining entering the fifth day, three Karnataka ministers today launched a counter rally challenging the Opposition to prove its charge.
A CBI team arrived in the mining town on Thursday morning and began inquiries. The CBI inquiry comes after complaints that the Reddy-owned Obalipuram Mining Company was undertaking operations illegally in Bellary.
A day after coming under attack from BJP leaders in the run up to the Nov 30 bypoll for the Bellary Rural seat, rebel leader B Sreeramulu on Thursday declared he would "wipe out" the saffron party base in this district.
The last time elections were fought in Karnataka the mining capital of the country, Bellary was in focus. The campaigns were grand, which made it evident that there was a lot of mining money in circulation.
Reddy and Sriramulu were taken into custody by the Gandhinagar police on charges of abetting the assault of a Congress worker in Bellary. In a complaint to the police, a Congress worker named Nani alleged that he had been assaulted by BJP candidate and former minister, Sriramulu. It was also stated that Sriramulu had assaulted him at the instance of Janardhan Reddy late on Wednesday night.
Supporters of former Karnataka minister G Janardhana Reddy have called for Bellary district bandh on Tuesday to protest his arrest under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Does Sriramulu's victory on Sunday in Bellary mean the defeat of Justice Hegde's movement against corruption? The former Karnataka Lokayukta doesn't think so, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Vicky Nanjappa explores Justice Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining in Karnataka and finds out a shocking case of abuse of power and guidelines in Bellary
The CCB police, which is investigating charges of spot-fixing in the last two seasons of KPL, has so far arrested eight people, including four cricketers, the owner of the Belagavi Panthers' team and an international bookie.
Initially, it was all gold. But Justice Hegde's report exposed the dingy substrate of Bellary's mining operations.
After public opposition by senior leader Sushma Swaraj, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday decided against merging the BSR Congress with it but approved the nomination of party leader B Sreeramalu for the Bellary Lok Sabha seat.
When the powerful Reddy brothers of Karnataka staged a coup against B S Yeddyurappa a couple of months back, they had said something very important, "Our final decision would depend on what Sushma amma says."
It was the turn of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka to hit back at the Congress and in a bid to do so, it held a mammoth rally in Bellary today. Sushma Swaraj who was invited by the organizers of the rally, the Reddy brothers said that the biggest dream of the Bharatiya Janata Party was to fly the flag of the party in Andhra Pradesh.
Fancy cars, helicopters, crime and money in abundance, the Reddy brothers were once a symbol of aggression; the Bharatiya Janata Party, which they represented, was totally subservient to them. However, all that has changed today.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday took on the Bharatiya Janata Party in mineral-rich Bellary hit by the mining scam, saying those involved in corruption in the area will not be spared and vowed to end all kinds of irregularity in the region.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has directed Karunakar Reddy, one of the mining tycoons-turned-politicians Reddy brothers of Bellary, to appear before it on September 16 in connection with the illegal mining case.
The deadlock between Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and the mining tycoons Reddy brothers of Bellary continued on Wednesday, with the latter going ahead with the foundation stone-laying programme for the construction of houses for the flood victims in North Karnataka.
The mining baron and former Karnataka minister, Gali Janardhana Reddy, has spared no expense or effort to make sure that his daughter Brahmini's wedding is the biggest, fattest wedding that Bengaluru has ever witnessed.
Tapal Ganesh is a well-know name in the mining circles in Bellary. He is one of the first men to have taken on the mighty Reddy brothers single-handedly and life has not been easy for him since then.
The arrest of Karnataka legislator Suresh Babu in connection with the cash for bail scam involving mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy has now turned focus on BJP MLA from Bellary, B Sriramulu. Babu told the CBI that his relative Sriramulu was in the know of things and even advised on how to go about making the deal.
Even as the crisis widens in the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, the party faction headed by Bellary mining tycoons Reddy brothers -- consisting of state tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy and revenue minister G Karunakara Reddy -- has put forth a fresh list of demands in order to avert the calamity. The Reddy brothers want a major reshuffle in the Karnataka cabinet and are expected to place this demand before senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, later on Thursday evening.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka on Friday expressed its regret about granting political powers to the Reddy brothers of Bellary. "We regret giving powers to three ministers in Bellary. People here are now facing anxious moments. There have been some mistakes on our part too. We will not allow such things to recur in the future," Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said. Reddy brothers -- Janardhana and Karunakara -- and their loyalist Sreeramulu.
In this exclusive interview with Vicky Nanjappa, B Sriramulu says he has no intention of destabilising the Karnataka government.
It's Monday morning blues for former Karnataka tourism minister and mining baron from Bellary G Janardhana Reddy. A 10-member Central Bureau of Investigation team conducted a raid at his residence and arrested Janardhana Reddy and his brother-in-law Srinivas Reddy.
The Cherlapally Central Jail officials on Thursday seized an amount of Rs 15,000 from jailed Bellary city Member of Legislative Assembly Gali Somashekhar Reddy, an accused in the cash-for-bail scam involving his brother and former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy.
Somshekhar Reddy, Karnataka Member of Legislative Assembly from Bellary, has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the cash-for-bail scam. According to the other arrested accused in the case, it was Reddy who passed on the money which was used to bribe those judges who eventually granted bail to his brother Janardhan Reddy, in a case connected to illegal mining.
The current situation in Karnataka is such that if the controversial Reddy brothers -- state ministers and Bellary's mining tycoons -- are ousted, everyone has something to gain, believes Vicky Nanjappa.
In an attempt to placate mining magnates Reddy brothers who failed to get ministerial berths in Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Friday told them that "a ministerial post is not permanent in politics". Gadkari, who inaugurated a mass marriage programme organised by the district BJP unit in Bellary under the leadership of former minister B Sreeramulu, exhorted the Reddy brothers to devote their energies to the service of the people.
B S Yeddyurappa faces his biggest crisis after creating history over a year ago by becoming the first Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister in South India. His seat has been threatened by the Reddy brothers of Bellary, who are in no mood for a compromise and are openly seeking a leadership change in Karnataka. Although the Reddy brothers and Yeddyurappa have been at logger heads in the past, the current crisis appears to be the worst.
Former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy and six others were Monday charge sheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a court in Bangalore in connection with alleged illegal mining of iron ore which caused a loss of Rs 198 crore to the exchequer.
In this exclusive interview to rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, senior advocate Nagesh explains the case of Janardhan Reddy and also what their strategy would be in the days to come.
Bellary city Member of Legislative Assembly Gali Somashekhar Reddy, an accused in the cash-for-bail scandal involving his brother and jailed former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhan Reddy, on Friday finally appeared before the Andhra Pradesh Anti-Corruption Bureau.
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