Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari will decide the fate of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who is facing heat in the mining and land scams.
“I have spoken to B S Yeddyurappa and he has agreed to follow the decision that I take. We are waiting for the report of the Lokayukta and only then a decision will be taken,” said Gadkari.
Yeddyurappa has written to Gadkari, requesting him to constitute a committee consisting of senior party leaders, Venkaiah Naidu, Anantha Kumar and Dharmendra Pradhan, to look into the allegations against the involvement of his family members in the mining scam.
The leaked report of the Lokayukta on illegal mining in Karnataka has reportedly observed that huge donations were received by Prerana Educational and Social Trust run by Yeddyurappa’s sons. The report also indicted his family members for selling land to a South West Mining Company at a high price.
A fresh controversy has also erupted with Lokayukta Santosh Hegde alleging that his phone was being tapped. In an effort to clarify the stand of the government, Yeddyurappa said he would resign from his position if his involvement in the tapping of Lokayukta’s telephone was proved.
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“I have written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appoint a high-powered central committee to investigate into the alleged telephone tapping. If the committee finds my involvement in telephone tapping, I will not only resign from my position as chief minister but also take retirement from active politics,” said Yeddyurappa.
In his letter to Singh, Yeddyurappa said: “The committee may be chaired by S M Krishna, Union Minister for External Affairs with former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and Lokayukta of Karnataka Santosh Hegde, as the other members.
Such a committee would ensure high degree of transparency to the inquiry, as it would have representatives from all the opposition political parties in Karnataka as well as the Lokayukta himself.”
Blaming the opposition in the state for repeated controversies surrounding him, Yeddyurappa said it was a conspiracy .
“It is quite ironical that the political parties which have been responsible for all the mining blunders in Karnataka are now enacting a sordid drama of passing the blame on others. There is a political conspiracy to defame me through false accusations.”