Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde has issued a notice to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa seeking his views on a complaint by the Janata Dal (Secular) on land denotification, saying there is a prima facie case.
“Since we have found a prima facie case in the complaint, we have issued a notice to the Chief Minister on November 21,” he told reporters in Bangalore.
The anti-corruption watchdog’s action has come as a further embarrassment to Mr. Yeddyurappa, who survived a threat to his position only recently.
The JD(S), which has been seeking Mr. Yeddyurappa’s removal, had filed the complaint on November 18 seeking a probe into denotification of land, including some favouring his family members, which had been notified by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).
Mr. Hegde, who has been at loggerheads with the Yeddyurappa government accusing it of deciding “unilaterally” to order a judicial probe into alleged land scams when the issue was pending before the Lokayukta, rejected allegations of being biased against ruling BJP and favouring some political parties.
Mr. Hegde said in all 14 cases had been filed as on date before the Lokayukta against the Chief Minister, including those submitted very recently. “Eight have been closed without even issuing a notice to Chief Minister and in the remaining six cases, in one case pertaining to denotification of land, notice has been issued.”
Mr. Hegde, who is also peeved with the government for seeking a status report on various cases entrusted to Lokayukta after he questioned the manner in which a judicial probe was ordered overlooking him, retorted “when there are 39 cases before me — between 2000 to 2010 — why does the government want to know the status of investigation only in seven cases?
“I have no doubt that it is with a view to project me as a pro-JD(S) or a pro-Congress person. I flatly deny it. I have no such prejudices.”
Mr. Hegde said in response to a letter faxed to him by the government seeking the status of investigation, he has sent a reply that all these cases are ready for investigation and the probe would be conducted.
