Bangalore: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday said there were "hundreds of scandals like the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project" in the mining sector, adding that he would face the challenge posed by Bharatiya Janata Party Bellary district president Janardhan Reddy, MLC. (Mr. Reddy has accused Mr. Kumaraswamy and Minister for Forests C. Chennigappa of collecting Rs. 150 crore from mine owners in Bellary district.)

Speaking to presspersons after a discussion on political developments with Legislative Assembly Speaker Krishna in his chambers before the House assembled in the morning, the Chief Minister said such tactics would not frighten him. Hundreds of scandals on the lines of the BMIC project existed in the mining sector, and he would reply to all the allegations made against him.

Mr. Kumaraswamy also said that illegal mining in Bellary district had its origin during the Congress regime and had increased recently.

He would have resigned if the charges had been levelled on the basis of documentary evidence, he added.

Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa accompanied him during the meeting with the Speaker.

BJP meeting

Earlier, BJP legislators met at the residence of Mr. Yediyurappa and discussed the issue. State unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy maintained that Mr. Reddy had not levelled any allegation against the Chief Minister. There was also no change in the party's stand that Pankaj Kumar Thakur should be retained as Superintendent of Police of Bellary district.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda alleged that the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh had signed thousands of orders allowing illegal mining in the State, including in Bellary. The BJP, he said, would concentrate on the development of the State and was not interested in mudslinging.

According to sources, several members complained that the Chief Minister did not consult the BJP before replying to the debate on the BMIC project in the Assembly and had said certain things that were not in consonance with the BJP's stand.

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