Rival mine barons in ‘get Reddy Brothers’ mission

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Dec. 16/2009

Talk about a rebellion and the names that automatically spring to mind are the infamous Reddys from Bellary whose November putsch failed to unseat Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
But this time, tourism minister G. Janardhan Reddy and revenue minister G. Karunakar Reddy who have held back to back midnight parleys with the Chief Minister to defuse the current rebellion, are not playing spoiler but mediator.
In fact, the challenge to BSY’s government comes from a determinedly apolitical mining family who are said to be tacitly backing the 18-20 member ‘third bloc’ and have reportedly struck a deal with the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress leadership to end the Reddy reign over the Bellary empire.
Industry sources say a reputed mine owner whose family has been in mining for the last five decades has been leading the ‘Reddy rival mine owners syndicate’ to execute a game plan to form a JD(S)-Congress government in a bid to keep the Reddy brothers from becoming more powerful than they already are.
The rivalry between the Reddys and the other mining giants has been a longstanding one, that has seen these mining families face police harassment and receive threatening calls.
One of the main reasons that forced this non-political group of mine owners to seek an alternative government in state, sources say, is the difficulty in obtaining mineral dispatch permits (MDPS) from the local officials who only take orders from the Reddy brothers. Apart from this, they are also facing serious encroachment into their mining territory and looting of their mineral wealth.
“Non-issuance of MDPS, leaving mines idle at the time of making business profits, day and night encroachments on their mines, police harassment and delay in getting justice from the court procedures have made Reddy rivals make a one-time investment for an alternative government in the state,” remarked sources.
The mine owners have taken this route before. “The same syndicate of Reddy rivals approached the Chief Minister and a senior national leader of party from New Delhi when the Reddys rebelled last month. Then, they had assured BSY they would bring in the JD(S) in return for the expulsion of the Reddy brothers from the party. They failed due to Sushma Swaraj’s firm support to the Reddy brothers,” the sources said.
But, this time, they seized the opportunity that opened up when the so-called ‘third bloc’ found they had not benefited from aligning with the Reddys. “The statements being issued by JD(S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda party state unit president H.D. Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders S. Siddaramaiah and R.V. Deshpande in recent weeks favouring a Congress-JD(S) coalition is an indication that these mine owners are in touch with both the Congress and JD(S) top leadership,” the source said.