Karnataka Governor to report to Federal Government on bribery scandal

In a new twist to the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge against Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy in the mining scandal, Governor T N Chaturvedi has decided to submit a detailed report to the Federal Government on the mining scandal in Bellary, which has rocked the coalition Government.

Governor Chaturvedi, who had called for a factual report from the Karnataka Government on the charges of bribery levelled against the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy, has now decided to report the matter to the Federal Government.

After receiving a report from the State Government on the bribery charges, the Governor has now sought details from the Department of Mines, Forest, Environment and Revenue to prepare a detailed report on the mining scandal in Bellary. The detailed report will be submitted to the Federal Government shortly.

The Governor’s decision to report the matter to the Federal Government comes in the wake of pressure from the Opposition Congress, which is seeking the dismissal of the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition Government in Karnataka on the bribery issue. The Congress has already submitted a memorandum to the Governor detailing the serious nature of allegations against the Chief Minister and called for a CBI probe into the matter.

The Congress party held a huge demonstration in Bangalore on Tuesday, where Congress leaders dubbed the judicial inquiry ordered by the State Government as “eyewash”. The Congress party demanded a CBI probe into the matter as the terms of reference for the judicial probe did not include the bribery charges against the Chief Minister.

But, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, speaking to reporters in Mysore yesterday, claimed that the judicial probe would cover all the charges of “corruption and nepotism” in the mining scandal dating from January 2000. “Hence, the probe will also cover the bribery charge”, he said even as he clarified that there was no truth in the allegation levelled against him by the BJP legislator, who has now been suspended by the party.