Bangalore, Dec 3 (IANS) The Congress, reeling under attack over corruption and other issues at the national level, Saturday faced embarrassment as Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna came under the scanner for his alleged role in illegal mining in Karnataka when he was the chief minister.
Also under probe will be two other former chief ministers, N. Dharam Singh, again of the Congress, and H.D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal-Secular. Both are now Lok Sabha members, Singh from Bidar in north Karnataka and Kumaraswamy from Ramanagara, near Bangalore.
The special Lokayukta (ombudsman) court judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao issued the directive Saturday to the police attached to it on a complaint from a Bangalore-based businessman. Police are to submit the report by Jan 6.
The probe will cover 11 serving and retired senior officials as well.
While the court order is an embarrassment to Congress, it is a morale booster to the beleaguered Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state as its first chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa was forced out of office July 31 for corruption in the illegal mining scam that has rocked the state since 2006.
Mining baron Gali Janaradhana Reddy, once a favourite of the BJP and tourism minister in Yeddyurappa government, is now in a Hyderabad jail in connection with illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.
The BJP and JDS had been alleging that illegal mining in Karnataka began during Krishna’s chief ministership in 1999-2004.
Kumarawamy had recently called Krishna ‘pitamaha (literally grandfather) of illegal mining in Karnataka’.
Yeddyurappa had in fact asked the then Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde last year to probe illegal mining in the state since 2000 till 2010.
He and the BJP have been attacking Hegde for leaving out Krishna, Dharam Singh and Kumaraswamy from his probe and indicting only Yeddyurappa by limiting the investigation to 2008-2010 period.
Singh headed the first coalition government in the state of the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) during 2005-06, and Kumaraswamy headed the next coalition government with BJP from February 2006 to October 2007.
Taking cognisance of the complaint filed by businessman T.J. Abraham, Sudhindra Rao asked Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) H.N. Satyananarayana Rao to investigate the charges made against the three former chief ministers and 11 officials and submit the report to the court by Jan 6.
Krishna, who was chief minister from October 1999 to April 2004, is accused of releasing the forest areas in the rich iron ore mines district of Bellary, about 300 km from Bangalore, to many mining firms in violation of the environmental laws and illegally amassing wealth in the name of his family members.
Singh is accused of issuing temporary transport permits for movement of iron ore and manganese ore from farm lands, which were not under mining lease and causing a loss of Rs.23.22 crore to the state’s exchequer.
Kumaraswamy also is accused of illegally approving mining licence to Sai Venkateshwara Minerals and renewing licence of Janthakal Enterprises during his tenure.
Among the accused officials are Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers I.R. Perumal, Mahendra Jain, K.S. Manjunath (retired) and D.S. Ashwath (retired), former mines and geology director Basappa Reddy, state-run Mysore Minerals Ltd deputy general managers K. Srinivas, M. Ramappa and Shankarlingaiah and former Indian Police Service officer Jija Madahvan Hari Singh.
Ever since illegal mining scandal broke out in the state in 2006, Krishna’s name has been mentioned often but he has strongly denied the allegations.
Singh and Kumaraswamy have also denied they had allowed illegal iron ore mining.
