BANGALORE: The question whether the suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC, G. Janardhan Reddy, is in the company of Congress leaders has arisen following a statement made by Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly N. Dharam Singh here on Friday.

The former Chief Minister told presspersons that Mr. Reddy would soon produce documentary evidence to support his allegation of bribe taking against Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and two Cabinet ministers.

In Mr. Dharam Singh's view, Mr. Reddy's expected action would culminate in the collapse of the coalition Government. The allegation of accepting a bribe of Rs. 150 crore from mine owners in Bellary district engaged in illegal mining had shaken the Government. He said he did not expect the Government to last beyond August.

Mr. Dharam Singh said the corruption charges could not be dismissed lightly and he reiterated the demand for a CBI probe into it. He criticised BJP leader and MP Sushma Swaraj for attempting to persuade Mr. Reddy to withdraw the charges. She had no right to do so as a judicial probe had been ordered into mining activities in the State.

The serious problems facing the Government were the reason for Mr. Kumaraswamy calling on the former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee during his recent visit to New Delhi.

Mr. Dharam Singh said Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president M. Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council H.K. Patil and he called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 8 and informed him about the political developments in the State, including the corruption charge.

The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who fought against the BJP throughout his career, had indulged in "opportunistic politics," Mr. Dharam Singh alleged and regretted having depended on the Janata Dal (S) for forming his Government in 2004. He accused Mr. Deve Gowda and the Government of adopting "double standards" on the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor project. It was Mr. Deve Gowda who signed the memorandum of understanding in 1995 for the project and agreed to hand over 20,000 acres of land for it.

Discrimination alleged

Mr. Dharam Singh described as "rubbish" Mr. Deve Gowda's charge that the Congress was creating hurdles for the functioning of the Government.

The Congress was only discharging its duties as a responsible Opposition party. The Government was bringing in politics into the matter of development and that Opposition members were discriminated against in the allotment of new high schools.

Of the 385 new high schools sanctioned, 165 were sanctioned in constituencies represented by Janata Dal (S) legislators, 129 in areas represented by the BJP and only 47 were sanctioned in constituencies represented by Congress members and 30 in areas represented by smaller parties and independents.

Mr. Singh said the Government had failed to take adequate relief measures in flood-hit areas, despite having received Rs. 128 crore under the Calamity Relief Fund.

The Government had released only Rs. 13 crore for relief measures, he said.

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