JD(S) releases booklet on Yeddyurappa govt 'scams'

Stepping up its campaign against the BJP government in Karnataka on corruption issue, the JD(S) today released a comprehensive list of alleged land and mining scams in the state and urged the Centre to use its agencies to probe them.

The booklet containing the charges would be circulated among Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, besides Shiv Sena and other NDA leaders, former prime minister HD Devegowda said.

"Corruption involving the BJP government in Karnataka is in the order of Rs1 lakh crore. It is not a notional loss as being projected in the second generation mobile telephony spectrum allocation scam. There are documentary evidences to prove the corruption charges against the BS Yeddyurappa government", the JD(S) supremo claimed.

Gowda said investigation agencies such as CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Mukherjee should order probe from any of these agencies.

The booklet contains documents pertaining to alleged land scams including controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (BMIC) project, mining irregularities, land allotment and land denotifications titled "Karnataka Land and Mine Scandals put 2G to shame... Mahabharath yuddh against Mahabrasthachar".

The BMIC scandals itself runs to Rs30,000 crore, Gowda, whose party has been keeping up its onslaught against the Yeddyurappa government, claimed. He had yesterday released a 10-point 'charge sheet' against the state government.

Gowda said his party would raise the Karnataka scandals in Parliament during the coming budget session and was ready to stage a dharna if the party was prevented by BJP from debating as it did in the second generation mobile telephony spectrum allocation scam.

Gowda, who met state governor HR Bhardwaj yesterday, said a copy of the booklet had also been given to him.

"The governor has written a letter to the chief minister stating that six of his ministerial colleagues have indulged in corruption", Gowda claimed.

Three days ago, Bhardwaj, locked in a war of words with the Yeddyurappa Government, had declared that he has a list of corrupt people including some ministers and was ready to give it to anyone, a remark which evoked sharp response from BJP leaders who called him a Congress agent.

Yeddyurappa dropped his plans to call on the governor to discuss the issue and had said his party would write a letter to President Pratibha Patil on Bharadwaj's conduct.