Yeddyurappa rules out removal of Reddy brothers

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday appeared to have decided to brazen it out in the fight with the Opposition with Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa giving a clean chit to the Reddy brothers facing allegations of illegal mining and ruling out their dismissal from the cabinet.

"101 per cent. There is no charge against them. There is no evidence against them. Let them (Opposition) approach the High Court," Yeddyurappa told reporters here when asked if he was giving a clean chit to the Reddy brothers G Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakar Reddy.

The chief minister's remarks came after the Reddy brothers held a breakfast meeting with Yeddyurappa who is under opposition pressure to remove them on charges of illegal mining and excessive export of iron ore.

"The question of taking action against the Reddy brothers does not arise. There is no proof," the chief minister said to a query whether there would not be action against the duo who also met the Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj today to give their version.

Recalling his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram to discuss the issue of illegal mining in the state, Yeddyurappa said "in no way, they (Reddy brothers) are responsible for illegal mining."

Yeddyurappa, who also met senior party leaders L K Advani, Nitin Gadkari and Sushma Swaraj, refused to divulge "whatever suggestions given by them".

Asked if BJP central leaders had asked the Reddy brothers to clear their name in the wake of charges of illegal mining, the Chief Minister said the Reddy brothers were "capable of tackling things themselves".

"The Reddy brothers are going to clarify their stand and how Congress and JD(S) are targeting them unnecessarily without documents or any charges," Yeddyurappa said.

The Bellary mining barons said they would hold a press conference in Bangalore tomorrow when they will respond to the charges against them.

Yeddyurappa said he would write to Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde tomorrow to investigate all cases of illegal mining from 2002-03 till date. However, he said he could not fix a time frame for the Lok Ayukta to complete his investigations.