Bangalore:
Opposition MLAs of the Congress and JD(S) spent a second night in the Karnataka Assembly. They are demanding action against illegal mining, which they say is represented by two senior members of Chief Minister Yeddyurappa's cabinet - the Reddy brothers, known for their mining enterprise in Bellary.
The Opposition wants nothing less than a CBI probe. The Chief Minister refuses to relent, and the Opposition says it won't budge. (
Read: Karnataka CM rules out CBI probe into illegal mining). The BJP Core Group is meeting today over the Karnataka crisis.
On Tuesday, the Governor of the state, HK Bhardwaj, met President Pratibha Patil in Delhi to update her on the root cause of all the commotion. After the meeting with the President, Bhardwaj told reporters that corrupt ministers cannot be allowed to continue in the government. (Read:
Karnataka Governor says corrupt ministers must go, BJP furious)
On Monday, Opposition MLAs first spent the night at the Assembly, and then refused to go home on Tuesday after the Speaker adjourned the Assembly for the day. What the Opposition - mainly the Congress party and the JD(S) - want to provoke is a CBI inquiry against the Reddy brothers, Karunakara and Janardhan. On Friday, this demand pushed the Assembly to the edge of violence. On Monday morning, Opposition MLAs showed up at work wearing hard-hats, insisting they don't feel safe because they've been threatened by the BJP, including the Reddys, to back off. "They made a statement in the floor of the House - you come to Bellary, we will see that you will be stripped," alleged Congress leader Siddaramaiah.
(Watch: MLAs' night out in Karnataka Assembly) | (
Read: Biryani, folk songs part of Karnataka MLAs' sit-in)
That the Reddys pose a formidable opponent is well-known to Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, who faced their wrath just a few months ago. Upset with him for introducing policies that they deemed unsuitable for their business interest, the Reddys orchestrated a giant rebellion against the Chief Minister in November 2009, one that included publicly parading 60 MLAs who said that if they had to choose, they'd side with the mining barons.
Confronted with the prospect of losing his job, Yeddyurappa gave in to their demands, sacking a minister who the Reddys objected to. He wept in public at his predicament.
The Governor says he has urged the Chief Minister to take a bolder stand now. "The Chief Minister himself was a victim. One year ago in Delhi, it was a big scene. He is a person who realises this, I spoke to him and told him, 'You are the CM, it is you who should tell... and nobody else... as you are the one who appointed them.' So he says 'I need time to correct all this.' He doesn't say this has not happened."
The Reddys say they may go to court against the Governor. "What the Governor's duties are and how he is carrying out those duties?"
Within the BJP, the support for the Reddys is ebbing. The issue of illegal mining and the allegation that the government is shielding members who participate in it were at the heart of the very public resignation of the state's Lokayukta or ombudsman, Santosh Hegde, earlier this month. Hedge agreed to withdraw his resignation only after senior BJP leader LK Advani called him.