The law is on the side of the State government if it wants to take action against persons involved in illegal mining, senior Congress leader B. Janardhan Poojary said here on Friday.
Mr. Poojary told presspersons that Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa had said that he would take action against the Congress and other Opposition parties involved in illegal mining.
He had accepted before the Legislative Council that iron ore had been illegally mined. “What is stopping him from taking action?” Mr. Poojary said.
The Congress leader said the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 gives power to the State government, not the Centre, to take action against offenders.
‘Praise for Gadkari'
Referring to remarks made by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani after the inauguration of the new State office building of the party in Bangalore, Mr. Poojary said Mr. Advani had not praised Mr. Yeddurappa as he had praised the work of that party president Nitin Gadkari.
The recent targeting of Christians who were running educational institutions for poor children was condemnable.
He pointed out that the law that the institutions had not registered with had been in place for several years.
“Was it not your responsibility to ensure that the law was complied with?” he said.
