Lokayukta `inaction' irks Janardhan Reddy

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Feb 17, 2010: Welcoming the Supreme Court ruling upholding the right of a court to order a CBI investi- gation into any issue with- out the consent of the state government concerned, tourism minister G. Janard- han Reddy said on Wednes- day he was confident for- mer chief minister H.D.
Kumaraswamy would no longer be able to evade pun- ishment for "accepting bribes from mining barons in Karnataka."
Expressing displeasure that the Lokayukta commit- tee which looked into illegal mining had made no men- tion of the charges against Mr Kumaraswamy, he said the former chief minister would not be able to escape the legal dragnet for much longer. The Supreme Court ver- dict, which came with a rider that courts should use their powers to order a CBI investigation cautiously and sparingly, was based on nine petitions seeking a CBI probe under Articles 226 and 32 of the Constitution into various cases. The peti- tioners had contended that the CBI could conduct investigation in any state without prior consent of the government concerned.

Mr Reddy's petition seek- ing a CBI probe against Mr Kumaraswamy for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 150 crore from mining barons was one of the petitions con- sidered by the apex court.
According to the minister, his petition against the Jana- ta Dal(S) leader will come up for hearing before a three-member panel of the Supreme Court in two weeks.

Mr Reddy, who was an MLC in 2006, had charged Mr Kumaraswamy, then heading a BJP-JD(S) coali- tion government in the state, with taking a Rs 150 crore bribe from the Bellary min- ing barons and demanded a proble by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter.

Instead the state govern- ment constituted the Justice U.L. Bhat Commission to probe the charges levelled by him. But the Bhat Com- mission later went on to seek the assistance of the CBI in its investigation.

In March 2007 the govern- ment decided to wind up the Bhat commission for its `failure' to submit an inter- im report within the two month deadline set.

Mr Reddy now alleges that Justice Bhat did not receive the cooperation he needed from the govern- ment when he needed CBI assistance to conduct his inquiry.

"Much to my surprise, the Lokayukta committee con- stituted after the Bhat Com- mission was wound up, has not even once referred to the Rs 150 crore bribery charge in its report and very intelli- gently misled the public," the minister said, adding that the Supreme Court's ruling would have far reaching ramifications and bring to book influential politicians.