Yeddyurappa ouster: Bellary's Reddy brothers fall in line

Will this mark the end of Reddy’s rule in Bellary? All these days, the three brothers ruled Bellary, and people, including Lok Ayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde, feared to go there.

Now the question that has popped up after the Reddy brothers decided to quit is, “Will the Lok Ayukta report herald the decline of the Reddys’ empire?”

All these days, the Reddy brothers fooled people by claiming they were not involved in any illegal mining activity in Karnataka and that their mining business is confined to Andhra Pradesh. Now, the Lok Ayukta report has exposed the Reddys completely and they in the dock.

After the indictment, Reddy brothers — G Karunakara Reddy, G Janardhana Reddy — and their associate, health minister B Sriramulu, have fallen in line and decided to quit the ministership. Now their one-point agenda is to save the BJP government to protect their business and personal interests.

If the government falls or if president’s rule is imposed, their position will get worse as they have already been caught in the mining storm, with the Centre, CBI, and Supreme Court fuming down their neck.

The Bellary big boys feel they can face these challenges only if they have a government in the state that can protect their interests.

The day after the Lok Ayukta report indicted the Reddy brothers, they held a meeting in their private apartment in Bangalore on Thursday and agreed to quit according to the direction of the party high command.

“We will abide by the party’s decision; party is important than the individual. We will quit,” said Sriramulu.

In fact, the Reddys held a meeting with the Bellary brigade of MLAs, and emissary Sriramulu went to chief minister’s residence and tried to convince Yeddyurappa to step down bowing to the interests of the party and the direction from the party high command.

Janardhana Reddy said, “We have not made any mistake. We have always treaded the path of truth and will abide by the party high command’s decision.” He further added, “Truth will prevail, let the truth come out.”

The Reddys are now making attempts to put one of their representatives in the new cabinet to protect their interests in Bellary. They are making efforts to make Suresh Babu, son-in-law of Sriramulu, the minister.

Considering their service to the party and the money power, the BJP may consider their request. The Reddy brothers are already facing heat from the CBI and the Supreme Court in mining cases. Now, they want to protect their wealth and fight the legal course of action.

After they quit, the governor can even order for their prosecution. They will be in trouble. On the other hand, if the BJP government continues, they may use their clout more effectively to delay the investigation process.