New Delhi:
The three Reddy brothers are children of a police constable - but they have come a long way from their humble childhood days. All three brothers are in politics - the two elder brothers, Karunakara and Janardhan are cabinet ministers.
They had made considerable money running a chit fund in the 1990s, but the real money began pouring in when they got into iron ore mining with a Rs 50 lakh investment - just ahead of the boom fed by the Beijing Olympics.
They obtained the lease to the Obalapuram mines in Andhra Pradesh. At the peak of the boom, iron ore was fetching almost four thousand rupees a tonne - and they were mining millions of tonnes a year. Their earnings run into thousands of crores.
For many, the Reddy brothers of Bellary came out of nowhere. Now of course, they are very well known - as mining millionaires many times over. This is the Obulapuram mine - the main source of their incredible wealth."
And now the Supreme Court stay on mining operations has hit at the source of that wealth. The boundary of this mine was always a matter of controversy - have the Reddy's encroached into forest land - were they illegally mining across the border in Karnataka? More than one survey was done to try and establish the truth - but somehow, the Reddy brothers always came out on top. (Read: Supreme Court suspends Reddys' Andhra mining)
They are protégés of Sushma Swaraj - and have been since she took on Sonia Gandhi in Bellary in 1999. They even threatened the survival of the Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka late last year - and succeeded in making the chief minister agree to many of their demands for their continued support.
Their many detractors both in and out of the BJP will hope that this time they may have to slow down.
Enormous wealth often comes hand in hand with enormous power. The many detractors of the Reddy brothers, in politics and out of it, in their own party and out of it, say the power they are enjoying now cannot last.
The Reddys already have enough money to last them several lifetimes - but to curb their mining activities is to cut at a huge source of their power.
They had made considerable money running a chit fund in the 1990s, but the real money began pouring in when they got into iron ore mining with a Rs 50 lakh investment - just ahead of the boom fed by the Beijing Olympics.
They obtained the lease to the Obalapuram mines in Andhra Pradesh. At the peak of the boom, iron ore was fetching almost four thousand rupees a tonne - and they were mining millions of tonnes a year. Their earnings run into thousands of crores.
For many, the Reddy brothers of Bellary came out of nowhere. Now of course, they are very well known - as mining millionaires many times over. This is the Obulapuram mine - the main source of their incredible wealth."
And now the Supreme Court stay on mining operations has hit at the source of that wealth. The boundary of this mine was always a matter of controversy - have the Reddy's encroached into forest land - were they illegally mining across the border in Karnataka? More than one survey was done to try and establish the truth - but somehow, the Reddy brothers always came out on top. (Read: Supreme Court suspends Reddys' Andhra mining)
They are protégés of Sushma Swaraj - and have been since she took on Sonia Gandhi in Bellary in 1999. They even threatened the survival of the Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka late last year - and succeeded in making the chief minister agree to many of their demands for their continued support.
Their many detractors both in and out of the BJP will hope that this time they may have to slow down.
Enormous wealth often comes hand in hand with enormous power. The many detractors of the Reddy brothers, in politics and out of it, in their own party and out of it, say the power they are enjoying now cannot last.
The Reddys already have enough money to last them several lifetimes - but to curb their mining activities is to cut at a huge source of their power.
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