The National Committee for Protection of Natural Resources (NCPNR) on Saturday demanded a judicial probe into allegations of corruption against Karnataka Minister for Infrastructure and Information R. Roshan Baig and Minister for Energy D.K. Shivakumar.
Addressing presspersons, founder president NCPNR S.R. Hiremath said an appeal has also been made to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to drop the two Ministers from the Cabinet. Responding to a statement of the Chief Minister, who said the NCPNR could take legal recourse against the Ministers, Mr. Hiremath said: “As head of the executive, the onus is on him.”
Accusing the Chief Minister and the Congress high command of “defending the indefensible” in spite of providing corroborative documentary evidence to prove alleged irregularities and illegalities committed by the Ministers, he said the Congress top brass are defending them.
Reiterating allegations against Mr. Shivakumar, he sought to know why Mr. Siddaramaiah, who challenged the Reddy brothers by taking out a padayatra to Bellary against illegal mining, was ‘silent’ about his Cabinet colleague.