Bangalore:
Two steel trunks packed with 10,000 pages could force BS Yeddyurappa to pack his bags and exit the Chief Minister's office in Karnataka.
The trunks contain a report on illegal mining prepared by Santosh Hegde, the state's Lokayukta or Ombudsman. The report directly indicts the Chief Minister and his family, refers to the powerful Reddy brothers from Bellary who are mining barons and Cabinet ministers; and says that between 2006 and 2010 the state lost Rs 16,085 crores because of illegal mining.
The report - which was leaked last week, allegedly after Mr Hegde's phones were tapped - was presented to the Chief Secretary of the Karnataka government today.
Mr Hegde has indicted several politicians from different parties for corruption. He finds that a trust fund run by the Chief Minister's family in his home area of Shimoga received Rs 10 crore from a mining company and "had purchased an acre of land for a consideration of 20 crores... whereas the land was not worth more than 1.25 crores." Mr Hegde described this as "an abnormal payment" and said the company that bought the land was "itself not financially stable or strong." Mr Hegde said the company borrowed money from other companies. "I find it difficult to accept that a person has to borrow money and then donate. Even the sale-purchase has a lot of discrepancies in the documents pertaining to the sale." He said the high price paid for the land "led to the conclusion on my part that these payments, either as donation or for sale consideration, have been made for reasons that are not genuine."
Mr Hegde said that he has come to the conclusion that there "is a possible offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act" and he has asked Governor HR Bhardwaj to decide what action needs to be taken now against the Chief Minister. Mr Bhardwaj has publicly and frequently clashed with the BJP government and has in the past recommended that the government be dismissed and President's Rule be introduced in Karnataka.
Mr Yeddyurappa has left for Delhi on a chartered flight to meet with senior BJP leaders to discuss the report. His party is reportedly leaning towards asking the Chief Minister to resign. In the Monsoon Session of Parliament which starts next week, the BJP plans to rev up its attack on the UPA for corruption. Keeping Mr Yeddyurappa in office would cause some serious grinding of gears.
Yeddyurappa says won't quit
The CM has remained defiant so far. He was seen this morning distributing the famous Tirupati ladoos to reporters waiting for a word with him. The Chief Minister of Karnataka spent the night at the Tirumala temple. "I woke up in a very good mood," he said, explaining that he enjoyed his early morning darshan at the Tirumala temple. "I prayed for so many things," he said, "I sat in front of God." He said he has no worries about losing his job because "Lord Balaji and all other gods are with me. I am doing so much good work," he added.
The Opposition has attacked Mr Yeddyurappa unsparingly and very vocally over the Hegde report, demanding that he be sacked immediately for being accused of nepotism and corruption. Even the BJP is split on this - there is a divide over whether he should continue as CM. BJP vice-president Shanta Kumar has openly said Mr Yeddyurappa must step down.
The BJP dilemma
Mr Yeddyurappa, the first BJP Chief Minister in a southern state, has survived all attacks against him in the last three years. But sources say a faction in the party now claims that their big plans of taking on the UPA government on the issue of corruption in the forthcoming session of Parliament would certainly be dented if Mr Yeddyurappa stays as Chief Minister. On the other hand, those favouring Mr Yeddyurappa say since the 68-year-old Chief Minister is the most prominent Lingayat leader of the BJP in Karnataka, the party should be wary of antagonising the community by removing him.
However, in signs of eroding support, the Lingayat mutts in Karnataka have slammed Mr Yeddyurappa saying he should be "above all suspicion." Speaking to NDTV, Sri Vishweshavani, the Chief Pontiff of Pejawar Mutt, said, "I am very upset that these allegations have come up against the CM. He should have been like Caesar's wife. Above all suspicion. At least we believed so."
The BJP now has to choose. Whether or not to sacrifice Mr Yeddyurappa, who has also delivered impressive gains for the BJP in the Lok Sabha and local elections, to be able to continue taking the high moral ground on corruption while attacking the Congress-led UPA at the Centre.