The bitter Hegde pill ...from tribune

THE indictment of Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa by the state’s Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde, over alleged corruption involving him, his family and his administration leaves him with absolutely no moral authority to stick to office. Yeddyurappa has for long been resisting demands for his resignation but this report of the Lokayukta (leaked to the media before its formal release) should really be the last straw on the camel’s back unless the BJP to which he belongs is bent upon committing political harakiri. So stark is the purported evidence against Mr Yeddyurappa that any alibis that he or his party may offer would only lower their credibility and compromise their goals in the only BJP-ruled state in the South. Close on the heels of the Lokayukta’s report has come the Karnataka High Court’s order allowing the police to question the chief minister and his family over illegal land deals. Indeed, Mr Yeddyurappa’s cup of woes is full to the brim and the writing is on the wall for him. Indeed, he can ill afford not to see it.

Doubtlessly, Justice Hegde deserves to be congratulated for being unsparing in unmasking the high and the mighty in his second report on illegal mining, including four ministers apart from the chief minister, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (S), Congress MP Anil Lad besides a host of other politicians and bureaucrats. That Justice Hegde had, in his first report in 2009, indicted the then Chief Minister Dharam Singh of the Congress only goes to show that the bleeding of the public exchequer is attributable to all major parties. It would, however, be foolhardy for Mr Yeddyurappa to take shelter under the pretext that he or his party are not the only ones in the dock. Going by Justice Hegde’s report, illegal mining has cost the state Rs 1,827 crore in dodged taxes and other levies between April 2009 and May 2010.

The implication of the Hegde report is that the politician-bureaucracy-business nexus has played havoc with Karnataka and the country’s interests. It is time the alleged loot is stopped and all those guilty of defrauding the exchequer are brought to book after due process of law. As a first step, Yeddyurappa must resign forthwith or be removed as chief minister and those indicted must not find a place in any new dispensation.