The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : `Sushma obstructing commission's probe'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 08, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Sushma obstructing commission's probe'

Staff Reporter

H.K. Patil alleges MP is pressuring MLC to remain silent

BANGALORE: Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council H.K. Patil has claimed that the attempts and statements made by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and MP Sushma Swaraj to prevail upon the suspended party MLC G. Janardhan Reddy to show her the evidence he had with him to support the bribery allegation against Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy amounted to criminal intimidation and inducing him to go back on the allegation.

Criticising Ms. Swaraj`s statement at a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Patil demanded Mr. Kumaraswamy to lodge a criminal case against her. Mr. Patil was of the view that the former Union Minister was obstructing the Commission of Inquiry going into the irregularities in mining, including the bribery charge.

Mr. Patil said Ms. Swaraj was pressuring Mr. Reddy to remain silent.

Mr. Patil urged the Justice U.L. Bhat Commission of Inquiry to take judicial notice of her statements and initiate suitable action. Asked whether he had recognised the commission, which was being opposed by the Congress, Mr. Patil said that the Commission should take note of what he was stating through the media. The Congress alleged that Ms. Swaraj with supporting corruption by prevailing upon Mr. Reddy to suppress the bribery charge itself. She had offended the Commission of Inquiry by asking Mr. Reddy to furnish the evidence with him to the BJP State unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

Mr. Patil said the Chief Minister had lost credibility by changing his stand and statements in several instances, the classic one being his denial that he had never alleged that a former minister and a journalist had met him on behalf of the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises.

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