A favourite phrase of Indian politicians who wish to demonstrate that they are not using their political power to influence the judiciary and law enforcement authorities is: The law will take its own course. True, the law must take its own course, all the more so in the cases involving the infamous Reddy brothers of Karnataka.
"Reddy brothers are holding the point that they have not violated any rules of mining. We are sure Janardhan Reddy will come out clean...As long as they are associated politically with us, we will own them up," Dhananjay Kumar, Karnataka government's special representative in Delhi, said.
In this exclusive interview with Vicky Nanjappa, B Sriramulu says he has no intention of destabilising the Karnataka government.
Sleuths of the Income Tax department on Monday conducted raids on the residences and offices of two Member of Legislative Assembly of the Bharatiya Janata Party, according to sources. Raids were conducted at the residences and offices of Suresh Babu and Nagendra. According to sources, raids were conducted in 60 different places including their offices at Bellary and Bengaluru. Their residences were also searched by I-T department officials. I-T sleuths have seized black money
Amid the suspense over the fate of the B S Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka following the revolt by a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party Members of Legislative Assembly, both the ruling party and opposition Janata Dal - Secular on Saturday continued their political machinations to maintain control over the rebels, who are currently holed up in a Goa hotel. Tourism Minister and mining magnate G Janardhana Reddy.
Karnataka Assembly Speaker Jagadish Shettar on Monday quit the post, paving way for his induction into the ministry on Tuesday as part of a compromise formula evolved to end the recent dissidence against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Friday hinted at a compromise formula, under which he may have to axe some ministers and transfer some senior officials, to end the crisis. Yeddyurappa also ruled out any leadership change in the state. Under a reported compromise formula in the making, Rural Development Minister Shobha Karandlaje, considered close to the chief minister, may be axed. Assembly Speaker Jagdish Shettar may be inducted into the cabinet.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Monday described as "too premature" the clean chit given by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to the Reddy brothers facing charges of illegal mining.
The Karnataka government on Monday decided to launch a monorail project and unveiled plans for Metro-II to cover more areas in a bid to further decongest the city's roads.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj on Wednesday said he has a list of corrupt people in the state and offered to furnish it to those interested. "I have given the list to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa also," Bhardwaj said. Bhardwaj's remarks came just a few days after he shot off two letters to Yeddyurappa seeking his response to land scam charges against him and on illegal mining allegedly involving three ministers -- G Janardhana Reddy, G Karunakara Reddy and B Sreeramulu.
As the crisis in the Karnataka's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party between the factions led by chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and the other spearheaded by the Bellary mining tycoons cum state ministers G Janardhana Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy, Yedurappa is scheduled to meet leader of opposition LK Advani and other senior party leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who had taken a tough stand on the ongoing crisis within the party, softened his stance on Sunday evening and termed the Reddy brothers -- consisting of state tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy and revenue minister G Karunakara Reddy, who are spearheading a faction within the state BJP to oust Yeddyurappa from the CM's chair -- his friends!
The situation in the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party deteriorated on Sunday with no positive result emerging out of the meeting the Reddy faction -- spearheaded by state tourism minister G Janardhana Reddy and revenue minister G Karunakara Reddy -- held with the party high command.
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 crisis in the Bharatiya Janata Party's Karnataka unit appears to be worsening. The latest development in ongoing power struggle is that the Reddy brothers led by Janardhan Reddy has left for Hyderabad with 15 MLAs in a bid to shield them from being wooed by the Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's camp.
The rift between Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his mine-owning ministerial colleagues continued as they stepped up their campaign against a new cess imposed on lorries transporting iron ore.Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, himself a mine owner in the ore-rich Bellary district, took the lead by holding parleys with fellow miners to mobilise support against the Rs 1,000 cess on each lorry load of iron ore.
'There is a conscious move by the BJP to distance itself from the current state leadership.'
Karnataka Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy on Friday night said the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee's report -- describing as 'illegal' the mining of iron ore by the Obulapuram Mining Company owned by him in Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border -- was not that of the apex court. He said the report by the CEC is an 'ex parte report' since the Obulapuram Mining Company "was never heard before
Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa stated in New Delhi that there is no threat to his post. However, this would come at a price, since the Reddy faction -- consisting of Karnataka Speaker Jagadish Shettar, Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy, who are spearheading the rebellion within the state BJP to oust Yeddyurappa -- with the support of nearly 67 MLAs are still looking for a hard bargain.
All guns blazing, Modi on Saturday mounted a scathing attack on the Congress over corruption, and asserted it will become "Punjab, Puducherry, Parivar" Congress after its defeat in the Karnataka assembly polls.
Reddy claimed that there was a "political conspiracy" and added that he had faith in the police.
A video showing a Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party leader allegedly trying to bribe a kin of a former Chief Justice of India to get a favourable verdict for mining baron G Janardhana Reddy in an illegal mining case aired on the last day of campaigning before polling on May 12.
With opinion polls predicting a hung assembly in Karnataka and the possibility that the JD-S could be the 'king maker' after the polls, H D Deve Gowda stays mum about his party's post-election strategy.
Reddy was arrested following a marathon questioning after he appeared before the CCB, ending his elusive run for three days.
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.
Reddy, who appeared at the Central Crime Branch office in Bengaluru on Saturday, was arrested after the questioning ended on Sunday morning
'The current impasse might be an occasion for Jayalalithaa's legal team to mull over what could have gone wrong with their strategy -- and where they could and should proceed from here,' says N Sathiya Moorthy.