PTI reported that about 50 TDP legislators were arrested when they staged a sit in outside the Chief Minister's office in the state Secretariat demanding that the government immediately halt all activities of illegal mining by Karnataka Minister's firm. They also demanded that a high level inquiry by senior secretaries of the government be ordered into the matter.
As per report, about 45 members of the state Legislative Assembly and 5 members of the Legislative Council, led by senior leaders Mr Nagam Janardhana Reddy, Mr M Narasimhulu, Ms Nannapaneni Rajakumari and others, marched into the Secretariat and sought to meet Chief Minister Mr K Rosaiah for submitting a memorandum on the illegal mining activity in Anantapur district by Obulapuram Mining Company owned by the Karnataka Tourism Minister.
Officials denied permission to the TDP legislators to meet the Chief Minister on the ground that they did not have a prior appointment. The TDP legislators then sat on a dharna in front of the C block housing the Chief Minister's Office and raised slogans against the mining mafia. They wanted the Chief Minister to come down and receive their representation.
At that time, Mr Rosaiah was engaged in a meeting with state Home Minister Ms P Sabita Reddy and Director General of Police Mr RR Girish Kumar over allocation of budget to the police department.
The TDP leaders persisted with their demands and continued their protest; police arrested them and took them to the Gandhinagar police station. They were subsequently set free.
The TDP legislators said the three member committee appointed by the state government to probe into the illegal mining activity was just an eyewash.
Mr Nagam Janardhana Reddy demanded that "The Chief Minister has appointed this lame-duck committee bowing to pressure from Kadapa MP Mr YS Jaganmohan Reddy and Rajya Sabha member Mr K VP Ramachandra Rao. The government should immediately convene an all party meeting and place all records related to the OMC before it for perusal."
Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party president Mr N Chandrababu Naidu has demanded that the state government seize all records related to OMC and place them before the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for critical scrutiny by leaders of all political parties.
He also reiterated the demand that a multi- disciplinary inquiry team consisting of all-India cadre officers representing Mines, Forest, Revenue, Vigilance and Enforcement, Survey of India, Indian Bureau of Mines, Sales Tax, Income Tax and Customs departments be constituted to probe deep into the illegal mining by OMC and bring out the facts.
(Sourced from Press Trust of India)
