The investigator in charge of looking into illegal mining activities in Karnataka, Santosh Hegde has accused the Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and other ministers of taking bribes from companies involved in the scandal.
The Bharatiya Janta Party led state government has been caught in the illegal mining scandal and now they will not be able to attack the Congress Party led government in the centre with quite the same force on anti corruption matters. Media reports have been analyzing how the BJP position in the center as primary opposition party will be affected by this.
The Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde found that the chief minister’s family had received illegal payoffs from a mining company to hasten the clearance of pending applications. He said that illegal mining has lost Rs 16,085 crore to the state treasury in the time period of 2006- 2010.
In the state capital of Bangalore Justice Hegde said that in the illegal mining and irregularities committed in the export of iron ore, they had found the involvement of some 100 mining companies, about 600 officials, powerful politicians including the chief minister.
He recommended criminal proceeding against the Chief Minister and some of his other ministers under the Prevention Corruption Act, 1961 for his direct involvement in the mining scam as the mining department comes under him.