Karnataka Lokayukta Shivaraj Patil on Tuesday said he would act on the illegal mining report submitted by his predecessor and Governor Bhardwaj's recommendation to initiate criminal proceedings against indicted former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Hours before Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde demitted office, outgoing Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday filed a petition before him seeking reconsideration of his report indicting him in the illegal mining that cost him the top post.
Ahead of the crucial Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Karnataka which will be submitted before the chief secretary on Wednesday morning, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has sought the intervention of the Gods.
As the standoff between Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and the state government continues over the appointment of a new Lokayukta, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would have no choice but to prepare a new list of candidates if the Governor rejected their original recommendation.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it was too early to react to the Karnataka Lokayukta's report on illegal mining, which has indicted Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, and asked the Congress to first take action against those named in the Shunglu Committee and Delhi Lokayukta reports.
After disbanding his team, Anna Hazare is working on plans to stitch a new team in the crusade against corruption for which he has convened a meeting of like-minded people by the end of this month.
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.
In the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation arresting mining baron G Janardhana Reddy, Karnataka Lokayukta Shivaraj V Patil on Monday said his office would hand over the report on illegal mining if the central probe agency asked for it.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Monday favoured handing over the probe into illegal mining in the state to the Central Bureau of Investigation, maintaining that the Obalapuram Mining Company owned by former minister G Janardhana Reddy indulged in such activity.
"We are inclined to stay the proceedings. Accordingly the proceedings on the FIR on the issue ordered by the Karnataka Lokayukta will remain stayed," a bench comprising justices Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra said.
Contending that corruption can no longer be ignored and the voice of 'aam-aadmi' should now be heard, former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Sunday expressed confidence that public support for Anna Hazare and his campaign would continue until his demands are met by the government.
Team Anna member N Santosh Hegde on Friday blamed all political parties for non-passage of the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, saying it was "choreographed by everybody".
On Wednesday, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh were in Bengaluru to oversee a special secret ballot election process within BJP MLAs from Karnataka to choose the next chief minister. The two candidates were D V Sadananda Gowda and Jagdish Shettar.
Another interesting part of the report is the one on illegalities in M/s Janthakal Enterprises. It talks about Daya Nayak and H D Kumraswamy trying to exercise their clout and how iron ore was exported to Pakistan illegally.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's followers spoke up for him before the Bharatiya Janata Party's high command on Friday morning. Now, they have decided to take on the report on illegal mining by Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde that indicts the CM and his family.
The Bharatiya Janata Party high command, meanwhile, has indicated that it could accept Yeddyurappa's option of setting up an internal committee to look into the allegations against the CM and his sons. This would give the BJP time.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said that if the leaked report of the Karnataka Lokayukta on illegal mining is correct, then it is an indictment of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
In the wake of Karnataka Lokayukta's indictment of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on the illegal mining issue, Congress on Thursday gunned for his removal, but a defensive Bharatiya Janata Party said the report had "lost sanctity" as it has been leaked.
Karnataka has been quiet for a while since political tempers have temporarily stopped flying around. However, what everyone is waiting for with a bated breath is the release of the second report on illegal mining, which many have termed as a block buster.
The moment a case is filed against a political leader, opposition parties go all out demanding his resignation. On Thursday, a FIR was registered against three former chief ministers of Karnataka in connection to a case of illegal mining. The FIR was registered in the wake of a private complaint filed in the court of the Karnataka Lokayukta, which alleged that S M Krishna, N Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy had helped certain companies carry out illegal mining.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Sunday insisted that he had given no licence for mining in forest area in Karnataka in his capacity as the state chief minister, a day after a probe was ordered against him in a mining scam.
Corruption in the office of the Karnataka Lokayukta is a huge matter of debate today. Questions have been raised about the office on how it continued to book cases of corruption, especially when its own officers were corrupt.
Lambasting the United Progressive Alliance government for hitting out at social crusaders like Anna Hazare and Ramdev, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Monday challenged it to dissolve the Lok Sabha and face mid-term elections.
The government had stated that the Lokayukta had not given the persons named in the report an opportunity to present their case before he named them and recommended action against them.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Saturday issued a notice to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on a complaint against him about denotification of lands.Earlier on Saturday, the Lokayukta expressed regret over his decision to withdraw his resignation over the government's inaction about the massive corruption in the state. While addressing the media at Bengaluru on Saturday, Justice Hegde said that he cannot now undo what has been done and he cannot resign again.
"We propose to cover organisations like ISRO and arms deals under the purview of Jan Lokpal as they are important from internal security angle, besides the Prime Minister above all who will come under its jurisdiction," Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, part of the 10-member Joint Drafting Committee on Lokpal Bill, told media persons in Bengaluru.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Wednesday suggested that corporates and NGOs should also be brought under the purview of the Jan Lokpal bill.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Monday said he was not willing to be Goa Lokayukta, even if that office was offered to him.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Thursday said he was reconsidering his decision to be on the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, apparently upset over the vilification campaign against the anti-graft panel.
Team Anna member and former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday appealed to Anna Hazare to end his eight-day fast, saying everyone is "honestly" concerned about his health.
The Karnataka Lokayukta Police on Monday registered an FIR against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his family members in connection with the anti-corruption watchdog's report into illegal mining. Besides Yeddyurappa, his sons B Y Raghavendra, B Y Vijendra and son-in-law R N Sohan Kumar and others have been named in the FIR under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Lokayukta sources said.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday made it clear that Anna Hazare and his team could have moved the court if they had problems with the conditions imposed on the activist's proposed fast by the Delhi police. But given the glaring loopholes in the hasty action taken against Hazare, the government seems to be on a very weak footing.
N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday retired as Karnataka Lokayukta after an "eventful" five years in office and said effort by some ministers to discredit his mining report that cost B S Yeddyurappa his chair was not unexpected as he has brought out a 'bitter truth'.
The report on illegal mining by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has stepped up the heat on big wigs in the state including Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde's report on illegal mining in the state is expected to be submitted any time now. Going by the 'leaks' from the Lokayukta's office, the report implicates around 600 figures, including Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa.
While the Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde gives final touches to the illegal mining report, the people of Bellary say they are not bothered, and Chief Minister Yeddyurappa is on a mission to save his chair yet again. Vicky Nanjappa revisits Lokayukta's first report that came out in April 2010, and dealt with the pathetic living conditions in Bellary.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Tuesday described as a "political game" Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's appeal to the prime minister to constitute a committee to inquire into the alleged phone-tapping scandal.
Lokayukta sources said much of the findings are already in the public domain as the report was leaked.
The Karnataka Lokayukta's report on illegal mining in the state is said to have named Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappaa, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the Reddy brothers among others.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership tried to influence Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde against mentioning Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's name in the mining report that is all set to be released in July. "I was told by BJP leader Dhananjay Kumar (former Union minister from Mangalore) to go soft on Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa while preparing the report on illegal mining," said Justice Hegde.