BANGALORE: The Congress in Karnataka has strongly denied the charges of the BJP leaders that it had a hand in the arrest of the former minister and the senior BJP leader G Janardhana Reddy who was picked up by the Central Bureau of Investigation in Bellary (CBI) in the wee hours of Monday.Addressing newsmen here on Monday, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dr G Parameshwar ridiculed the charge of the state BJP president K S Eshwarappa that, the CBI had arrested Reddy at the instigation of the Congress in New Delhi.Outlining the issue which culminated into the arrest, the KPCC president informed that following vociferous demand made by the Opposition Telugu Desam and other parties in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, the then chief minister R Rosaiah had referred the alleged illegality of the OMC and BIOC, two companies owned by Reddy brothers to CBI, to unravel the truth in 2009.Terming the charges of the state BJP chief as baseless, KPCC president said that the CBI which had found prima facie on the charges of illegality of two mining companies owned by Reddy brothers, have taken extreme steps to arrest the accused.Stating that the CBI must have taken a decision to apprehend the BJP leader after accumulating strong evidences backed by incriminating documents, KPCC chief said that with the arrest of Reddy the Congress stand on its demand for ordering a CBI inquiry into the alleged misdeeds of the Reddy brothers in connection with the illegal export of iron ore from the state, was got validated.“We still insist for a CBI inquiry into all the illegal mining activities and the transport of iron ore from the state which had resulted into a whopping revenue loss of over `16,000 crore to the state exchequer and confiscation of all the assets and wealth from those who were named by the Lokayukta in its report on the illegal mining,” Parameshwar said.He also criticised Chief Minster D V Sadananda Gowda keeping silent after referring to the report to a committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary.Referring to sustained agitation launched by the Congress on the issue in the state the KPCC president described Reddy’s arrest as the victory of the people.As a responsible party, the Congress have launched several agitations against the corrupt BJP regime in the state including the historic 320 km Padayathra from Bangalore to Bellary the bastion of the Reddy brothers in 2010. Reiterating the party’s demand for initiating actions against those officials and political leaders whose names were figured in the Karnataka Lokayukta, Dr Parameshwar criticised the chief minister for dragging his feet on the issue.
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