The other side of Bellary Sriramulu

The other side of Sriramulu

BY SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAGI /DC
BELLARY

After the murder of his brother-in-law Railway Babu, Sriramulu, then a Congress councillor, ended his association with his mentor Mundloor Diwakar Babu and joined hands with his childhood friend Janardhan Reddy who was then running a financial firm
He has gone to jail, was allegedly a ‘rowdy-sheeter’ and has many criminal cases pending against him. But the people in Bellary and Gadag offer prayers to his photograph that they keep in their homes! The health and family welfare minister and Man Friday of Bellary Reddy troika — B. Sriramulu, 37 — is the most talked about politico at the moment, emerging from the shadows of the Reddy brothers after he was projected as the ‘next Chief Minister' by ‘mining czar’ and the most influential minister in Chief Minister B. S. Yedd-yurappa’s cabinet, Gali Janardhan Reddy. But he has also played an important role in the establishment of the Reddy dynasty in Bellary. The son of a D Group employee in Railways, he has been friends with Janardhan Reddy since the age of 12.

Hailing from Valmiki community, which is a dominant force in Bellary, he grew in popularity with his aggressiveness and fearlessness.

After the murder of his brother-in-law Railway Babu, Sriramulu, then a Congress councilor ended his association with his mentor Congress leader Mundloor Diwakar Babu and joined hands with childhood-friend Janardhan Reddy, who was then running a financial firmEnnoble India.

The year 1999 brought the Reddys and Sriramulu to the forefront when they campaigned for BJP senior leader Sushma Swaraj against AICC supremo Sonia Gandhi in the fiercely fought Parliamentary elections.

Both Ms Swaraj and Sriramulu, who contested for Bellary assembly seat against Diwakar Babu lost the elections, but the foursome earned her affection and confidence.

The Olympics in China brought about the Bellary boom and iron ore rates spiralled from Rs 200-300 to Rs 2,000 per tonne in region which subsequently propelled the Reddys, who had bought the Obulapuram Mines in Andhra Pradesh to the hot seat of state politics. The Reddys did not forget to elevate Sriramulu as one of the directors of their mining company.

Mr Sriramulu won the 2004 Assembly elections and went on to become a minister in the JD(S)-BJP coalition. In 2008, he won again without much difficulty and became something of a ‘cult figure’ of Valmiki community in region.

On Sunday, tourism minister Janardhan Reddy stated in a Valmiki community convention in Bellary, “Sriramulu is next CM. No one can stop this as his leadership acceptance among the Valmiki community and downtrodden is not restricted to any one region, but across the state.” This utterance has shaken the corridors of power in state politics raising questions on a leadership change at the top, only weeks ahead of key bypolls which would have cemented the BJP’s hold on the state.

Mr Sriramulu has strong support. Says Bellary city MLA Somashekhar Reddy “Sriramulu is born to uplift poor and always thinks and concerned of downtrodden. State will progress if such a person becomes the CM.” He adds, “Let CM Yeddyurappa complete his term and continue in the seat of power until he wants to. After this, if there is any opportunity for Sriramulu to become Chief Minister, then I personally would be very happy to see him becoming CM.” On whether Mr Sriramulu is still a rowdy sheeter, all superintendent of police Seemanthkumar Singh would say is this: “I am outside the office, let me check up.” But, police sources say his name is still in the list of rowdy-sheeters as fresh cases of ransacking vehicles, threatening Congress leader Anil Lad and absconding during recent assembly elections were registered in addition to a number of pending criminal cases.


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