Under fire from the BJP and JD(S), former Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Wednesday hit back at former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa challenging him to disclose documents to support his allegation that he had been offered a top post at the centre by the Congress-led UPA.
“If there is material why does he not produce it... instead of making oral allegations,” Hegde, a Team Anna member who was in the forefront of the agitation demanding a strong Lokpal act, told reporters. Hegde, whose report on illegal mining led to resignation of Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister, asserted no body can “buy” him. “No political party and industry has the strength to buy me... No one has... Not even the media I am saying directly,” former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde said.
On Yeddyurappa’s charge that he is “responsible” for sending him to jail, the former Supreme Court judge said, “He is sent to jail on a land denotification case on a private complaint. Let him understand. Santosh Hegde had nothing to do with the case in which he had to undergo incarceration.”
Hegde has come under renewed attack by BJP and JD-S leaders, particularly Yeddyurappa, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy JD(S) and state BJP chief K S Eshwarappa after a former Lokayukta SP, K Madhukar Shetty alleged in a newspaper interview that the Lokayukta was not free from corruption and that there were black sheep in it.