Bengaluru: A decade after the dusty, scorched precinct of Bellary turned into a key political battlefield for Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the constituency has reappeared as a major conflict zone. This time, it is not the heat and dust of electoral politics, but a red-hot row over

tons of iron ore mined here and shipped to distant shores without permits. The latest face-off between Congress and BJP leaders could even influence the outcome of next Lok Sabha elections as certain protagonists — mine barons-cum-ministers, Reddy brothers — have vowed in public to install their godmother Sushma Swaraj as the next Prime Minister.
The current battle over five lakh tonnes of impounded iron ore (valued over Rs 200 crore) missing from Belekeri port and revelations about a massive racket of unauthorized mining of iron ore in Bellary (estimates vary from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore) will last for quite a while with leaders of both parties declaring that they will take to the streets to garner the support of people. These leaders are set to march a couple of hundred km as part of their efforts to derive maximum political mileage by campaigning against corruption. Evidently, the Central leaders will keep on acting out their roles in New Delhi in this game of political one-upmanship. Perhaps, the core issue—one of bringing to book every firm which extracted iron ore without permission—could well take a back seat in view of such a prolonged tussle. “Why have Congress leaders lost faith in Lokayukta overnight? Actually, the names of some Congress leaders figure in the first report of Lokayukta on mining and they will face action soon. Everybody knows CBI stands for Congress Bureau of Investigation and has been misused against umpteen number of politicians in the past. So, our government will request the Lokayukta to continue his inquiry and bring all those who mine owners who extracted iron ore without licence,” says BJP spokesman V.Dhananjaya Kumar.
In fact, the opposite may be true. The issue of missing ore and illegal mining have proved a godsend for the Karnataka unit of Congress to energise its factions and haul the BJP government over the coals and demand a probe by CBI officers. In fact, it took much prodding by Union minister for mines B.K. Handique (he wrote three letters to CM B.S. Yeddyurappa, suggesting an inquiry by CBI into unauthorised mining) and Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj’s vociferous statements on blatant plunder of iron ore before local leaders were jolted into action. Notwithstanding flak from senior BJP leaders, the Governor not only traveled to Delhi to report these issues to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil but even declared his loyalty to Congress.
The question, as the house is adjourned sine die and the overnight dharnas end is this — will Congress leaders be able to sustain the heat on the ruling party until the next Assembly polls come around three years from now, and still be able to keep corruption as its key issue? Public memory is after all, notoriously short.
The state unit leaders are unsure whether they can keep mining and corruption on the boil till the next Assembly polls which are due in 2013. “As principal Opposition, it is our duty to fight corruption in the government and to stop the daylight looting of our natural resources. We are certain that this government will not last its term but collapse on its own. So, our intentions are to go to the public about corruption in the government and why the Chief Minister is afraid of handing over these cases to CBI. Let this inquiry reveal the names of all those who are involved in illegal mining, even those from our party,” says KPCC president R.V. Deshpande.
In many ways, for Mr Yeddyurappa too, the latest row has proved an ideal opportunity to turn adversity into an advantage to isolate and suppress the formidable Reddy brothers after they brought him down to his knees last year. In fact, these mine owners-cum-ministers are themselves to blame for provoking Congress and Janata Dal (S) legislators to launch a day-night sit-in in the Legislature. “If they had behaved as ministers ought to than resort to slogans and rude gestures, there would not have been a cause for opposition parties to come together on,” remarked a minister.
Insiders in BJP, are also wary of the clout of these leaders from Bellary. In fact, they are the brains behind the state government’s suggestion to Union Government to ban export of iron ore as such a move would help their plans for a Rs 36,000 crore steel plant (the MoU between Brahmani Steels owned by Reddy brothers and the state government was signed during the recent Global Investors Meet).
It must also be noted how Janata Dal (S) leaders exploited the latest confrontation to re-establish their ties with Congress and settle scores with their saffron foes, Mr Janardhan Reddy and his lieutenants, who had repeatedly embarrassed H.D. Kumaraswamy when he headed the coalition of Dal (S) and BJP parties. Former chief minister and his father H.D. Deve Gowda, too, has planned to undertake marches to highlight the issue of illegal mining.
One question will, however, remain: will all those who broke the law to make extra bucks evade action as politicians continue to thump their chests, putting punitive action against illegal mining on the back burner?