Lokayukta seeks K’taka Guv’s nod to prosecute Kumaraswamy in mining lease case
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Lokayukta on Wednesday made a submission to Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot seeking his consent for prosecution against Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy in a case related to granting of mining lease in violation of law, allegedly to the Sri Sai Venkateswara Minerals company.
Sources confirmed on Wednesday that the Lokayukta sleuths have made a fresh submission to the Governor in this regard.
The case dating back to 2007 pertains to allegations that Kumaraswamy, during his tenure as CM from 2006 to 2008, illegally approved a 550-acre mining lease to Sri Sai Venkateswara Minerals at Sandur taluk in Ballari district in violation of law, resulting in significant illegal mining activity.
The Lokayukta has completed the investigation and filed the charge sheet in the case.
It had made a submission earlier in November to the Governor seeking his consent for prosecution of Kumaraswamy.
The Governor had asked the Lokayukta to get the translation of the reports from Kannada to English and sent back the file.
The Lokayukta has now got the translation of more than 5,000 pages of the report and submitted it to him.
Reacting to the development, Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Pralhad Joshi stated on Wednesday in Hubballi that politics of hatred is being pursued in Karnataka.
“The Congress leaders went to the residence of Union Minister Kumaraswamy and made him the CM earlier. Now, they are filing the case. In former CM B.S. Yediyurappa’s case also, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara, on record stated that, the POCSO case should not have been filed against him,” Joshi claimed.
“Later, when the MUDA charges came up, the state government expedited the probe of the POCSO case against him,” he stated.
However, Minister for RDPR, IT and BT, Priyank Kharge said in Bengaluru that the Supreme Court has refused to issue a stay in the case against Union Minister Kumaraswamy and stated that an investigation is required.
“The court has clearly stated that Kumaraswamy has misused the officers while being in power. What is the stand of the BJP now?” Kharge questioned.
It is alleged that Union Minister Kumaraswamy, while he was Chief Minister of Karnataka, made land allotments to Sri Sai Venkateswara Minerals by violating the guidelines and the opinion of the Chief Secretary.
Kumaraswamy had earlier clarified that he did not sign on the file related to Sri Sai Venkateswara Minerals, alleged irregularities related to which are at the centre of the mining case.
The charge is that Kumaraswamy had violated the Minerals Concession Rules. The case had come out in the 2011 investigation report by former Lokayukta Justice N. Santhish Hegde. Kumaraswamy faced the threat of arrest and but he managed to obtain bail in 2015.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had raised concerns over delay by the Raj Bhavan in granting permission to prosecute Kumaraswamy and slammed that the Governor is biased in giving consent over granting of sanction for prosecution.