BJP chief Nitin Gadkari has summoned Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda to discuss the fallouts of the arrest of Janardhana Reddy and his brother in the Obulapuram mining case. Gowda will be travelling to Nagpur so as to meet Sadananda Gowda.
Till last month, Janardhana Reddy was the tourism minister for Karnataka. On Monday morning, he was arrested by CBI along with his brother-in-law from his residence at Bellary and brought to Hydrebad. Mr. Reddy was sent to jail for 14 days.
Both the Reddy's has been accused of illegal mining through Obulpuram Mining Company. Srinivas is the managing director and Janardhana Reddy is a director of the company. The CBI team has allegedly fund out Rs. 3 crore in cash and 3 kg gold from his residence. OMC operates in Andhra Pradesh, but is headquartered across the border at Bellary in Karnataka, where Janardhana and his two brothers, are hailed as masters of their universe. Their politics and mining career have stimulated each other's growth so carefully, that it is hard to tell them apart. A series of cases has been charged against the Reddy's where they are alleged to have encroached into the reserved forest area, illegal exporting of huge amounts of iron ore, and of coercing other mining companies to act as a front. A report on the illegal mining delivered last month by Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde indicted the Reddy's and the then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. While the later had to quit his office and the Reddy's were not allowed to be included in the new cabinet of Sadananda Gowda. B Sreeramulu, former minister and a close aide of Reddy's too has announced his resignation as an MLA on Sunday. He is also named in the report given by Santosh Hegde on illegal mining. Mr. Gadkari is also to discuss Sreeramulu's resignation with Gowda. OMC had a salivating growth rate. It was set up in 2001 by Gali Janardhana, with an initial capital of Rs. 10 lakhs. By 2003-04, OMC had taken over several mining leases directly or indirectly and had reported a turnover of RS. 35 crore. In just five years, by 2009, the turnover was Rs. 3000 crore.
News Reported by AR for Newsvision - Online news paper
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