Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said there was no need for fresh investigation by another agency into V.S. Lad & Sons, of which Minister of State for Infrastructure Development Santosh Lad is a partner, as the Central Bureau of Investigation is probing allegations against the company.
Mr. Siddaramaiah was talking to reporters after Janata Darshan at his home-office Krishna here. He reiterated that Mr. Lad was not party to illegal mining. Mr. Lad had furnished documents to show that his firm was not into illegal mining, the Chief Minister said. Referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s demand to drop Mr. Lad from the Ministry, Mr. Siddaramaiah said illegal mining was rampant during the BJP rule. B.S. Yeddyurappa had to resign from the Chief Minister’s post following the Lokayukta report on illegal mining and not because of demands made by the Opposition parties then, he said.
Stone quarrying
The Janata Darshan witnessed a large number of people demanding steps to curtail illegal stone quarrying. Residents of Gulagunjanahalli in Kengeri hobli said walls of their houses had developed cracks and their life had become unbearable due to quarrying in the village. Yogalingam from Shivajinagar, who has been performing Keelu Kudure , a folk art form, for over five decades, urged the Chief Minister to grant him pension and confer the Rajyotsava award on him.
