Sting targets BJP, Shah calls it fake

BENGALURU: An alleged sting video telecast by Kannada private TV channels on Thursday, the last day of campaigning for the Karnataka assembly polls, showed BJP leader B Sriramulu allegedly discussing a bribe with former chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan for a favourable verdict in an illegal mining case.

Sriramulu is being projected as BJP’s top Dalit and tribal leader and is contesting from two seats –– Badami, against chief minister Siddaramaiah and the reserved seat of Molkalmuru.

The 47-minute video, purportedly dated July 1, 2010, and shown to be recorded at 10:47:40, was also uploaded by the Congress on YouTube after it was released by state unit working president Dinesh Gundu Rao and home minister Ramalinga Reddy. The source of the video is said to be two disgruntled persons in the deal, who go by the names of Captain Reddy and Swami Rajinish.


Rao said that just a day before CJI Balakrishnan retired, he had passed an order related to a mining company belonging to the Reddy brothers. “Several videos have been released showing how bribery deals were done between the then CJI’s sonin-law Srinijan, Sriramulu and the Reddy brothers,” he claimed.

Reacting to this, Amit Shah said: “Lots of videos move around in the market, we should check their veracity first.” Congress sources said they had not got the videos directly but “found” them while surfing the net. The disgruntled Swami is said to connected to the Ramachandrapura mutt in Shivamogga, the home district and constituency of BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa.The video, according to sources, is related to the case of the Obalapuram Mining Company, owned by G Janardhan Reddy, the main accused in the illegal mining case in Ballari. This scam was uncovered by Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde in 2011. Reddy is out on bail on this case and is currently campaigning for Sriramulu in Molkalmuru.