BSY family received Rs 20 cr from Bellary mining firm

The Opposition Janata Dal Secular brought more pressure for the resignation of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

The Opposition Janata Dal Secular brought more pressure for the resignation of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Saturday by questioning a series of cheque transactions showing

Rs 20 crore was transferred to the accounts of the Chief Ministers sons and a son-in-law from a Bellary mining company in August this year,barely days after Yeddyurappa banned iron ore exports. According to documents placed before the media by H D Kumaraswamy,the ledger accounts for the month of August 2010 for the company,South West Mining Ltd,located at the JSW township in Bellary show three cheques each in favour of the bank accounts of Yeddyurappas sons B Y Raghavendra,B Y Vijayendra and son-in-law R Sohan Kumar were issued on July 30,August 25 and 31. Though the official accounting in copies of the companys ledger says the cheques are for purchase of land near the Manyata Tech Park,Bangalore, Kumaraswamy alleged a possible illegal mining-related transaction and has challenged Yeddyurappa to place records of all mining-related decisions taken by his government in August this year as well as documents if any to show the actual sale of land.

Yeddyurappas son B Y Raghavendra,who received Rs 10 crore through cheque numbers 002418,004367 and 004442 into his State Bank of Mysore account number 64010486365,said the money he received was for land he sold earlier this year when he needed some money. We did not know it was a mining company that the land was being sold to. We sold the land because we needed the money then, Yeddyurappas older son said on Saturday acknowledging the deal.

Yeddyurappas second son received cheques bearing the numbers 002419,004368 and 004443 into the same SBM account 64010486365. His son-in-law got cheques bearing numbers 004369 and 004444 also in the same SBM account.

As per the copies of the ledger accounts of South West Mining Ltd,Raghavendra,Vijayendra and Sohan Kumar were paid Rs 10 crore,Rs 5 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively for the purchase of one acre of land at Manyata Tech Park and near it.

The transactions incidentally occurred close on the heels of Yeddyurappawho holds the mining portfoliobanning exports of iron ore from Karnataka on July 26 and the transport of iron ore in the state on June 28 in the face of growing allegations of illegal exports from the mining district of Bellary.

Yeddyurappa must explain whether this tract of land that his family claims to have sold for Rs 20 crore came from his ancestors or through denotification. They have to produce documents to show the land deal or will they need time to create the documents? Kumaraswamy said at a press conference.

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Let the Chief Minister also place in public whatever decisions were taken by him on mining in the month of August this year, he said. Asked if he was implying that the Chief Ministers family received illegal gratification for facilitating mining-related activities despite a government ban imposed by Yeddyurappa,the JDS leader said: Only legal exports were banned,illegal exports still continue.

The JDS attack on Yeddyurappa came shortly after the Chief Minister said in Hubli that there was no question of his resignation in the light of growing allegations of nepotism and corruption. He also said he would aim to wipe out the JDS from Karnataka. We know he wont resign. There is also no BJP high command with the spine to ask him to go. If there is no alternative to him,then that is the problem of the BJP,not the people of Karnataka. Let them then dissolve the assembly and go for elections, Kumaraswamy said. Yeddyurappa is scheduled to hold a second round of meetings with the BJP high command on Sunday to decide his future.