Court summons Karnataka Chief Minister in defamation case

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy has been summoned by a court in Bellary district in connection with the defamation suit filed against him by BJP legislator Janardhan Reddy.

The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Bellary issued orders yesterday for the personal appearance of Kumaraswamy, who has been accused of defaming the BJP legislator by calling him a mad person. The court has asked Kumaraswamy to appear before the court on September 7.

Kumaraswamy is accused of calling Janardhan Reddy a mad person after the latter accused the Chief Minister of accepting a bribe of Rs 1.5 billion from the illegal mining lobby in Bellary.

Meanwhile, Janardhan Reddy, who spoke to reporters outside the court complex on Monday, said he would release the first instalment of the documents relating to the bribery charge on Wednesday. “I will release the documentary evidence on the bribery episode to the media on Wednesday. Due to security concerns, I am yet to finalize the place. It could be either Bellary or Bangalore”, Reddy said.

Reddy, who is also holding marathon discussions with BJP MPs and legislators, besides legal experts on the consequences of making public the eagerly-awaited evidence, said he would be releasing the documents to prove his bribery charge in phases.

The BJP legislator is also holding parleys with like-minded leaders in the BJP, which is incidentally a partner in the Kumaraswamy-led JD (S)-BJP coalition. Former Federal Minister and senior party leader from Karnataka Basavaraj Patil Yatnal, who also met Reddy, has declared his support to Reddy’s fight against corruption.

Yatnal said he would speak to the party’s top brass and secure Reddy’s suspension from the party revoked. “The BJP should not confine itself to the party’s interest during the 40-month tenure of the coalition. The party should look beyond the coalition’s tenure”, he said accusing the BJP Ministers in the coalition of protecting their personal interests by ignoring Reddy’s allegations.