New Delhi: On Friday, with the Lokayukta report naming BS Yeddyurappa, his sons and son-in-law and the infamous Reddy brothers, it’s official that the state is in the grip of the mining lobby. So how does Karnataka's mining mafia operate.
CNN-IBN has been investigating the mining scams at Bellary since July last year. Since 2000, a surge in demand from China has turned Bellary's iron ore into black gold.
The boom led to what Lokayukta Santosh Hegde calls the biggest scam in the country. The scam largely revolves around these three brothers – Karunakar, Somashekar and Janardhan Reddy and their close friend Sriramulu. Allegations of under invoicing, fake challans, encroaching on smaller mines and even reserved forests.
"Just we are into very small business. After me entering into this mining business, we have become so rich. Why Janardhan Reddy, every mine owner has become very rich," said Janardhan Reddy, Tourism Minister, Karnataka.
As the mining business boomed, helicopters, swanky cars and bungalows followed. Politics was a natural next step. In 1999, the Reddy brothers backed Sushma Swaraj in her high-profile Lok Sabha battle against Sonia Gandhi in Bellary. In the 2008 state elections, there were allegations that the Reddys funded the BJP in Karnataka. The source of their clout, the iron ore of Bellary, much of it mined illegally was first exposed by Lokayukta Santosh Hegde.
As allegations mounted, in early 2010, the Reddys all but brought down Yeddyurappa government forcing the CM to defend the brothers.
The Lokayukta report is only about illegal mining. The BJP government also faces serious charges of land grab worth thousands of crores. The only consolation is the fact that HD Kumaraswamy and a Congress leader may also be named in the final report. But for Yeddyurappa and the Reddy brothers another escape looks tough.
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