Hegde hopes SC action on report; Sack Yeddy, demands Shanta

Bangalore, July 23 (PTI) Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N
Santosh Hegde, who has prepared a damning indictment of Chief
Minister B S Yeddyurappa and others on the mining scam, on
Saturday pinned his hopes on the Supreme Court for action on
the report which he will present to the Government and not the
Governor.
As the BJP leadership worked on strategies to deal
with the situation, demands for removal of Yeddyurappa also
surfaced from within the party.
BJP vice-president Shanta Kumar dashed off a letter to
party president Nitin Gadkari and senior leader L K Advani
demanding that Yeddyurappa be removed immediately since BJP's
image throughout the country was getting tarnished by his
continuance in office.
Hegde, who demits office on August 2, said his
endeavour is to submit the report on Monday or Tuesday but
indicated that there could be some delay.
"Government will not act on it (the report)", Hegde
told PTI in an interview. "But my only hope is Supreme Court,"
he said.
Hegde said the Supreme Court-appointed Central
Empowered Committee (CEC) has taken his first report on
illegal mining submitted in December 2008, and "relied upon
it" and he expects it to do it this time as well.
Hegde, however, said it was not mandatory for the
Government to accept his report, which has raised a political
storm after the leaked document strongly indicted Yeddyurappa.
Sources in the Lokayukta said the final report on the
mining scam will not be submitted to Bhardwaj as it was the
Government which referred the case to the former Supreme Court
judge and not the Governor.
Sources also said that given the uneasy relationship
between Bhardwaj and Yeddyurappa, who have been often at
loggerheads, Hegde does not want to land in a controversy by
deviating from norms and face accusations of being biased.
But Lokayukta sources said the Governor can call for a
copy of the report and make recommendations to the Government
on what it needs to do in his advisory capacity.
The Governor said yesterday "...And if as a competent
authority (the Governor), if he (the Lokayukta) sends the
report to me, then I will deal with it according to the
Lokayukta Act (section 12 and 13)".
"I will give my serious thought to whatever he
(Lokayukta) recommends and you will know my action the moment
I get the report", Bhardwaj had said.
Lokayukta has indicted Yeddyurappa and four other
ministers on illegal mining, which the anti-corruption
watchdog says caused a loss of Rs 1,800 crore to the state
exchequer in 14 months from March 2009.
Four ministers, including three from the mineral-rich
Bellary district, have also been indicted by the Lokayukta.
Hegde said the apex court is monitoring the illegal
activity in mining area in Karnataka and it has expressed very
strongly that they (the government) completely stop mining in
Bellary.
"And I have evidence and other things of illegality
going on in Bellary; I have put it in my report. And I am sure
the CEC which is collaborating with us (Karnataka Lokayukta)
also... Their object is the same as mine (of) curbing illegal
mining. They may take the report (to be submitted next week)
and place it before the Supreme Court," he added.
Hegde, a member of the joint drafting committee on the
Lokpal bill, appeared not surprised by Chief Minister’s
statement that there was no need for him to resign.
"...and each one when it comes to respective
politicial parties... when it comes to their personal conduct
and all that... they will justify it anyway (that they have
done no wrong)", he said.
Hegde was in agreement that it's not mandatory for the
Government to accept his report. "Lokayukta report will only
recommend what's happened and what should be done about it,
and anybody who is accountable or responsible should take
action on that..." .
Based on the information in the report, he said
Lokayukta can certainly prosecute those who had been named in
it but added that the first opportunity is for the Government
to act upon it. "If criminal activities are noticed, liability
is noticed, we can prosecute" but it's "left to the next man
(his successor)".
Karnataka government meanwhile asserted it had not
ordered tapping of telephone of Hegde, who has now hinted at
the possible involvement of a political party behind it.
"Government has not ordered (tapping of Hegde's
phone)", Chief Secretary S V Ranganath told PTI when
contacted. "We have not authorised anything".
Asked if he is convinced that the State Government is
behind his phone-tapping, Hegde said: "I would not say
Government; but political party might be there (behind the
phone-tapping)...I don't know, that I don't want to
comment...I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to join
issue on phone tapping".
Hegde early this week said his phone had been tapped.