Congress scared of lok ayukta report: Yeddyurappa aide
Puttaswamy said the Congress’ tirade against Justice N Santosh Hegde was intended to put the lok ayukta on backfoot and try to pre-empt the worst.
Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa’s political secretary BJ Puttaswamy on Tuesday alleged that Congress leaders had trained their guns on lok ayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde fearing that the final report on illegal mining would expose many of their partymen.
Puttaswamy said the Congress’ tirade against Justice Hegde was intended to put the lok ayukta on backfoot and try to pre-empt the worst. “As chief minister BS Yeddyurappa says, illegal mining is the brainchild of Congress and JD(S). They are shifting their blame to the present BJP government. After the lok ayukta submits its final report, the truth will come out. Fearing that their names will be exposed, Congress leader BK Hariprasad has criticised Santosh Hegde’s functioning,” Puttaswamy said.
Criticising the two-month programme Congress Nadige Janara Balige, Puttaswamy said when the party was in power it forgot the people. “Now they are trying to reach out to the people. But people will teach a bitter lesson to them,” he said while addressing the media on Tuesday.
HDK, kin looted exchequerPuttaswamy alleged that two days before HD Kumaraswamy demitted the chief minister’s officer, the JD(S) leader’s family members-owned BSK Trading Company exported 1.50 lakh tonne iron ore to China and in turn received Rs167crore.
He said that though BSK Trading started in 2001, it did not do any business till Kumaraswamy became the chief minister. “He took charge as the CM on February 18,2006. After that in the month of March, the company exported Rs35 crore-worth iron ore to China.
He bent the rules while granting mining licence to a firm when he was the CM. He even violated suggestions of the additional secretary of the mines and minerals department,” said Puttaswamy, adding that former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and his family members were not as clean as they claimed.
“They (family of Deve Gowda) looted money and are now acting as if they did not commit any fraud. HDK had said if anyone proved that his family members committed any fraud, he will retire from politics. Now we have given the proof; he should retire and accept that he committed frauds,” he said.
Puttaswamy demanded that Kumaraswamy respond to the allegations of misuse of power and nepotism in allotting sites to his relatives and others. “So far Kumaraswamy has not replied to my charges,” he said.