Reddy’s CD surfaces in Bangalore, sends JD (S)-BJP coalition into a turmoil

A video CD and an audio CD, purportedly containing the image and voice of Forest Minister C Chennigappa receiving wads of currency notes, surfaced in Bangalore on Wednesday night, sending the JD (S)-BJP coalition into a tizzy.

The CD, which was beamed into millions of homes through television channels, refreshed the Rs 1.5 billion bribery charge levelled against Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and two of his cabinet colleagues including the Forest Minister by BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy.

The CD, which was hand-delivered to various media houses in Bangalore, has a video lasting for about 12 seconds, showing a hazy picture of a smiling Chennigappa, sporting a striped shirt, sitting in front of bundles of currency notes.

BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy said the CD telecast by television channels was “genuine”. But, said he does not have a clue about how it was leaked to the media. “I have submitted them all to the court. I do not understand who is leaking them to the media”, Reddy told reporters.

Co-incidentally, the CD surfaced in Bangalore on the day Reddy’s writ petition seeking a CBI probe against the Chief Minister, Forest Minister and Home Minister M P Prakash was taken up by the High Court.

Earlier in the day, Reddy had sought the permission of the High Court to submit some audio and video cassettes containing “prima facie” evidence against the Chief Minister and two of his cabinet colleagues.

Reddy’s counsel, C V Nagesh told the court that there were a total of 14 CDs, which he would like to submit before the court. Waving a sealed cover, Nagesh said the same can be kept in the custody of the High Court. But, the Judge H G Ramesh, who was hearing the case, told the counsel to keep it with him for the moment.

Meanwhile, Forest Minister C Chennigappa put up a brave front, unfazed by the revelations in the CD. He dismissed the CDs as a “duplicate” piece of evidence that had been doctored by Reddy. “Neither have I accepted money nor asked anybody to give me money. Reddy has made use of advanced technology to create the CD”, Chennigappa said.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy dismissed the CD as “flimsy” and said he had better work to do than wreak his brains over a “doctored” CD. He said there was no proposal to drop Chennigappa before the Cabinet in the wake of the revelations in the CD.

However, the BJP, a partner in the ruling coalition, appeared to play it safe by seeking a probe to ascertain the veracity of the CD. BJP’s Karnataka unit President D V Sadananda Gowda said there was need for an inquiry to ascertain the genuineness of the CD as it has been released after a long delay.

“If the CD is proved to be genuine, the JD (S) will have to take action. Even though it is the internal matter of the party, the person in question is part of the coalition set up and action has to be initiated”, Sadananda Gowda said.