Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: A day after the Lokayukta report indicted Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and four of his ministers, Yeddyurappa has reacted to the report by saying that he is in no way involved in the illegal mining.
“It is a fact that illegal mining is going on in Karnataka since long. I was the first Chief Minister to take all possible steps to curb illegal mining in the state,” he said in his first reaction on the issue to a private news channel in Mauritius.
“It was during the National Council meeting that I brought to the notice of the Prime Minister the rampant illegal mining in Karnataka,” he added.
Yeddyurappa said that after he became the Chief Minister he has not given a single license permit for mining.
The Karnataka Chief Minister also said all central leaders of BJP are with him.
In an 8,000-page long report, Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde had named Chief Minister Yeddyurappa, the controversial mining barons Reddy brothers, Tourism Minister G Janardhana, Revenue Minister G Karunakara and Health Minister B Sreeramulu for their alleged involvement in illegal mining. The Chief Minister`s sons and son-in-law are said to be included in the report as well.
The report also named JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Congress MP Anil Lad.
The report blames Yeddyurappa for not taking steps to check illegal mining even after the Lokayukta submitted a report on it in December 2008.
Political storm is has started brewing up in Karnataka and Congress is gunning for Yeddyurappa.
