The BJP on Sunday appeared to have decided to brazen it out in the fight with the opposition with Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa giving a clean chit to the Reddy brothers facing allegations of illegal mining and ruling out their dismissal from the cabinet.
"101 per cent. There is no charge against them. There is no evidence against them. Let them (opposition) approach the high court," Yeddyurappa told reporters here when asked if he was giving a clean chit to the Reddy brothers G Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakar Reddy.
The Chief Minister's remarks came after the Reddy brothers held a breakfast meeting with Yeddyurappa who is under opposition pressure to remove them on charges of illegal mining and excessive export of iron ore.
"The question of taking action against the Reddy brothers does not arise. There is no proof," the Chief Minister said to a query whether there would not be action against the duo who also met the Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj today to give their version.
Recalling his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram to discuss the issue of illegal mining in the state, Yeddyurappa said "in no way, they (Reddy brothers) are responsible for illegal mining."
Yeddyurappa, who also met senior party leaders L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj, refused to divulge to the media "whatever suggestions given by them".
Asked if BJP central leaders had asked the Reddy brothers to clear their name in the wake of charges of illegal mining, the Chief Minister said the Reddy brothers were "capable of tackling things themselves".
"The Reddy brothers are going to clarify their stand and how Congress and JD(S) are targetting them unnecessarily without documents or any charges," Yeddyurappa said.
The Bellary mining barons said they would hold a press conference in Bangalore tomorrow when they will respond to the charges against them.
Yeddyurappa said he would write to Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde tomorrow to investigate all cases of illegal mining from 2002-03 till date. However, he said he could not fix a time frame for the Lok Ayukta to complete his investigations.
The Reddy brothers paid an unscheduled visit to Delhi and met Swaraj, who is considered close to them, and Yeddyurappa, after which Janardhan Reddy dismissed all the charges against them.
The meeting between the Reddy brothers and Swarajas also the Chief Minister at the Karnataka Bhawan here came a day after Yeddyurappa held a series of meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister P Chidambaram, senior BJP leader L K Advani and party chief Nitin Gadkari.
Janardhan Reddy, Tourism Minister, said he and Karunakar, Revenue Minister, apprised Swaraj of all the developments.
"We have explained in detail to Swaraj and she has come to know about every detail and what the Congress strategy is", Janardhan Reddy told reporters after the meeting.
"There is nothing in the allegations levelled by Congress. Congress has lost its image. For nothing, they are fighting. Whatever the Congress strategy is, it will fail", he said.
Asked about suport from the Chief Minister, Janardhan said "we are all fighting togehter against Congress. We are all honest BJP workers".
Karnataka is witnessing a raging controversy over illegal mining allegedly by the Reddy brothers. Governor H R Bhardwaj has sought their removal, prompting BJP to hit back at him and term him as a Congress "agent".
The state assembly also saw a three-day siege by opposition MLAs demanding action against those engaged in illegal mining. Hegde had quit his post earlier complaining of non-cooperation from the state government in the fight against corruption but retraced his step after a request by Advani. PTI
