Under employed opposition leaders...

Karnataka minister VS Acharya tells G Vishnu, Tehelka that he never put pressure on the Lokayukta to give a clean chit to the CM

• Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hedge claims you were present when former Union minister V Dhananjaya Kumar asked him not to indict Chief Minister BS Yeddyurrappa in his forthcoming report on illegal mining. Is it true?
  It is true that I met Hegde at his house in Bengaluru but I didn’t discuss any political matter. Dhananjaya Kumar didn’t make any such statement in my presence. I have high regard for Hegde. His father (Justice KS Hegde) was a senior BJP leader. I have never asked him for any favours.
• What is your comment on the Congress allegation that Santosh Hegde is corrupt.
  Congress leaders are underemployed and don’t know what to do, hence spewing nonsense is their preoccupation. We don’t know why the Congress is attacking Hegde. They always have a hidden agenda. They deliberately projected Chief Minister Yeddyurappa as a villain to hide their own sins. We have all seen how the Commonwealth Games, 2G spectrum and the oil scams consumed the country. People in Karnataka have repeatedly vouched for our performance. We care a hoot for what the Congress says.
• • In the Lokayukta’s previous report on illegal mining, former Congress CM Dharam Singh was also named.
    Dharam Singh’s involvement only dates back to five years ago but the Congress has been exploiting iron ore reserves in the state for 30-40 years now. They began with charging extra premium for the iron ore dust. The Congress has a long history of exploiting resources for its own use. They were the first to export iron ore at the cost of government companies. The Congress policy itself is all about creating bankruptcy. Name any state in the country, the Congress has looted resources there. Be it Karnataka, Odisha or Madhya Pradesh, the raw materials were exploited, exported, completely ignoring the value addition that could have proved beneficial for local industries. Better gain and employment creation is completely ignored. Congress agents have always exported ore at throwaway prices.
  • Is the BJP trying to pressurise Hedge into not naming Yeddyurappa? He has given suggestions to that effect. Rumour has it that you are among those who put pressure.
    Hegde is a person whom we consider with great respect. All this is a media creation. I don’t know what Hegde has said. I have been meeting him since 1975. I never used any meeting to push my own cause or political purpose. The last time I visited his house was six months ago to invite him for a function. No one can doubt my integrity.
  • The Lokayukta has asked for security cover for his staff once the report is out. What kind of threat are they facing?
    I’m not aware of that. If he has asked for security, he should be given protection. Anybody, whether it is a government servant or a private person, if they are feeling threatened, they need to ask and we will give them protection.
  • Do you acknowledge that there exists a powerful mining mafia in the iron ore belts of the state?
    I don’t know about the mining mafia. Today, the atmosphere in the country is fragile. There are a lot of security issues. So let us not limit ourselves to Bellary.
  • 
    The BJP made an unsubstantiated allegation regarding the wealth of Deve Gowda. After Kumaraswamy went on a fast, the remark was withdrawn. Didn’t your party lose face?
    Instead of raising valid issues, they are attacking a good government. Our governance is so good that people are repeatedly electing us and I don’t think there is anything worth pointing out in what the Opposition is doing
  • G Vishnu is a Correspondent with Tehelka.
    vishnu@tehelka.com

What Lok Ayukta Justice Hegde really said...

Excerpts of an interview with Rediff

"I was told by BJP leader Dhananjay Kumar (former Union minister from Mangalore) to go soft on Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa while preparing the report on illegal mining," said Justice Hegde.

"A couple of months ago, Dhananjay Kumar told me during an informal chat to go soft on the chief minister. I had told him clearly that he should not meet me if this is what he wanted to discuss. I had kept the incident under wraps and felt that I should not speak about it. But Kumar went around telling people that 'I had been settled' and the CM's name would not be mentioned in the mining report," he said.

"Why did he have to go around speaking like that when I had made my stand very clear to him? I got confirmation of what Kumar was saying when a BJP minister told me what he was saying about me. I don't like speaking out like this. But when there is a deliberate ploy to malign me, I thought I should speak up," said Hegde.

"During that informal meeting, BJP minister Dr V S Acharya and A G Kodgi were also present.

"They didn't try and influence me in any way. But Kumar had the audacity to threaten to file a defamation case against me. I needed to take the names of Kodgi and Acharya as they were present at that meeting," he said,"

Dr VSA: I have never gone to Justice Santosh Hegde seeking personal favours. I have known his family for almost 30 years and have been to his house several times...

20.06.2011

1. Justice Santhosh Hegde inaugurates the Lok Ayukta office building at Udupi

2. Foundation stone for Extension of Udupi IB, laid

3. Two new bridges across river Swarna, foundation stone laid

(photos by Janardan Kodavoor)

Lok Ayukta Building worth 45 lac for Udupi

State Home Minister V S Acharya, who laid the foundation stone said for better smooth, clean and efficient administration and better development, there should be corruption free system in the society. The state government was committed to provide all infrastructure required by Lokayukta, Dr Acharya said.

As the district sub-jail here had been shifted to Nejar on the outskirts of the city, the district administration was planning to set up a 'Mini-Vidhana Soudha' to house taluk office for which Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had agreed in-principle. The work on the construction of the building was expected to be taken up by January next year, he added.

(Mangalorean)