Senior Congress leaders V.S. Ugrappa and K.C. Kondaiah on Friday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order a CBI probe into the entire gamut of issues related to illegal mining.
Speaking to presspersons on the third anniversary of the Congress padayatra, led by Mr. Siddaramaiah to Bellary in protest against illegal mining, they said the government should initiate action against politicians, including the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, some Congress leaders, 100 mining companies and 785 officials indicted by the Lokayukta and recover the Rs. 22,000-crore loss to the exchequer.
They said the CBI was already investigating several cases of illegal mining referred to it by the Supreme Court and even recovery proceedings were to begin.
They said the CBI should be allowed to launch civil and criminal proceedings against the accused, as it involved inter-State and international transactions. They said unless the State government gives its approval to the Union government, it cannot order a CBI investigation into the cases.
