Hitting out at the BJP government for sending a revised report to the Supreme Court constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on illegal mining in Karnataka, external affairs minister S.M. Krishna said it was “factually incorrect and mischievous.”

The veteran Congressman, who was CM from 1999-2004, in a letter to Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, copies of which were released to the media by the state Congress, asserted that the CM had made a deliberate attempt to defame him by sending ‘doctored and concocted’ information in its second response. Besides Mr Krishna, the report says there is prima facie evidence against former CMs Dharam Singh and H.D. Kumaraswamy on their involvement in illegal mining.

Mr Krishna said: “The state government's response is not only factually incorrect but to say the least, it is mischievous (pardon the use of this word).” The letter also questioned the need for sending a second report when it was not sought by the CEC. “It personally pains me when I see that a deliberate attempt has been made to defame me,” Mr Krishna observed.

The Union minister felt that though both responses submitted by the state government spoke about the same issues, what surprised him was the second response was at variance with the first one and it contained distorted information. “I feel that such a response, whether made carelessly or deliberately, amounts to concoction with an intention to defame me,” he contended.

He pointed out that he was neither the minister for mines and geology nor did he even remotely have anything to do with the affairs of Mysore Minerals Limited(MML), which is a state-owned company. “In fact the Lokayukta report has held and named the people responsible for the reported wrongdoings, I have not been named or indicted in any manner by the Lokayukta. Though there are 150 public sector undertakings like MML in the state, each of these entities function under its respective administrative departments. I fail to understand how a Chief Minister can be held responsible for the alleged acts of omissions and commissions of such entities?,” he wondered.

Mr Krishna also observed that the Central government in 1993, adopted a new National Mineral Policy which altered the earlier mining policies radically and allowed private sector participation in the mining sector. “As per this policy, the then state cabinet approved the dereservation of mineral bearing blocks which measured upto 11,620 Sq.km of 26,462 sq km. But this was done after due consultation with forest minister, K.H. Ranganath and the mines and geology minister. Apart from this, the Cabinet also took a conscious and unanimous decision to reserve 14,848 sq km, of forests which contained thick and ecologically fragile forests,” Mr Krishna explained.

He argued that what was very obvious and factually correct was that the forests were not de-reserved as is being wrongly made out but it were mineral bearing areas and not forests that were de-reserved. “I as chief minister of the state from October 1999 to May, 2004, never held the portfolio of mines and geology. I have not recommended even a single case to the Central government for consideration of grant of mining lease contrary to what has been sought to be made out in the state government's response.”