Cong uses Lokayukta remark to attack Yeddy

NEW DELHI: Faced with a belligerent Opposition attack on the alleged scam in 2G spectrum allocation, Congress has launched an offensive against BJP over Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa’s stand-off with Lokayukta Santosh Hegde.

“An aggrieved Lokayukta yesterday said that perhaps it was not the right decision for him to take back his resignation (after persuasion by senior BJP leader L K Advani). In the wake of the Lokayukta’s recent observations, Yeddyurappa should immediately step down,” party spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters.

The Lokayukta’s apprehension that the state government had constituted a judicial probe into land allotments to take the issue out of the purview of Lokayukta turned out to be true, he said. Mr Hegde has today expressed displeasure over various cases including land scams, now under the Lokayukta scanner, being “transferred to judicial probe without, let alone approval, even a discussion.”

The Congress spokesperson alleged that `2.5 crore was deposited in the name of a building construction company owned by Mr Yeddyurappa’s son-in-law by a person, who was allotted iron ore mining leases in 2008, adding that “it’s a direct issue of corruption”.

The party levelled fresh allegations of corruption against the BJP government in Chhattisgarh, saying a company, Pushp Steels, owned by a proxy of the BJP’s central leadership was given iron ore mining leases immediately after it was formed.

Mr Tewari alleged that the company, which was allotted iron ore mines in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh days after it was formed in Delhi, is “a proxy of BJP’s bigwigs”. He said some central leaders of BJP are “surrogate” behind Pushp and dared Chief Minister Raman Singh to reveal the owners of the firm.