JD (S)-BJP panel to meet on mining

With the cracks in the Janata Dal (S)-BJP coalition setup coming to the fore over mining controversy, the coordination committee of the two parties is set to meet on Monday to sort out the issue.

Last week, BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy and his brother Karunakara Reddy (Bellary BJP MP) accused chief minister H D Kumaraswamy of transferring Bellary district superintendent of police Pankaj Kumar Thakur to favour a section of the mining industry. They even accused him of taking bribe, which the chief minister denied.

Despite repeated efforts, the Reddy brothers refused to withdraw the allegations. This has caused much embarrassment to both the parties. The Reddy brothers belong to the Ananthkumar camp of the BJP. Supporters of deputy chief minister B S Yediyurappa suspect Ananthkumar's hand in this latest episode.

The coordination committee meeting will decide the next course of action. Besides, the BJP legislature party meeting is scheduled for Monday. Yediyurappa has threatened to take action against infrastructure and tourism minister B Sriramulu in whose residence the Reddy brothers made the allegation.

Sriramulu is the Bellary legislator. Yediyurappa, is said to have decided to report the matter to BJP national president Rajnath Singh.