'Attempt to cover up illegal mining'

The Congress in Karnataka today alleged that there was a ’conspiracy’ to cover up illegal mining in the state and demanded a CBI probe. Taking a swipe at Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa for his reported remarks rece-ntly at Raichur that there is no illegal mining in the state, Opposition Congress Leader in the Legislative Council V S Ugrappa demanded that the Chief Minister order a CBI probe “to prove that he is honest”.’

“There is a conspiracy to cover up the illegal mining,” he said referring to reported statements made by Yeddyurappa earlier in Shimoga, Mysore and Bangalore that he has not been successful in checking the illegal mining. “The statement by Yeddyurappa that there is no illegal mining is an utter lie; he should tender an apology to people of the state,” Ugrappa said.

Yeddyurappa had said there was no need for a CBI probe as the state government would act on the report of Lokayukta,which had gone into mining operations in detail. The mining issue has stirred a hornet’s nest as the Reddy brothers —Janardhana Reddy and Karunakara Reddy, ministers in Yeddyurappa Ministry— who spearheaded a oust-Yeddyurappa campaign recently, own a number of mining companies in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.