Bengaluru, Nov. 27: Is this war by another name? The Lokayukta dropped all pretence that he would take the path to reconciliation by sending an ‘intimation’ — an euphemism for a notice — to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa asking him to respond to allegations made by JD(S) leader Y.S.V. Dutta over the Chief Minister’s alleged involvement in the denotification of land by the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board.
“My office on November 23 has sent the Chief Minister an official intimation asking him to respond to the allegations made by the JD(S) in their complaint to the Lokayukta,” Justice Santosh Hegde announced on Saturday, “based on prime facie evidence” while also sending a reply to the government which had put him on the mat over seven petitions pending before the ombudsman.
The Lokayukta insisted he had “no personal agenda” against any political party or leader. “The allegation that I’m working against the Chief Minister is malicious and wrong; this is part of my professional hazard,” said Justice Hegde.
Replying to the allegation that he is targeting Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the Lokayukta said that of the 13 complaints filed before the Lokayukta against the Chief Minister, four have been closed for want of evidence. “In the remaining nine, we haven’t served any notice upon him so far,” he explained.
He added that in the past he had indicted a former Congress chief minister (Mr Dharam Singh) for his alleged involvement in the mining scandal and had even sought the permission of the then governor to prosecute him. But it did not come through. “I had even indicted two ministers in the H.D. Kumaraswamy government and had asked him to drop them from the Cabinet,” Mr Hegde said.