BELLARY: The suspended BJP MLC, G. Janardhan Reddy, on Wednesday disclosed what he claimed were "documents and evidence" in support of his allegation that Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his two of his Cabinet colleagues had accepted a bribe of Rs. 150 crore from mine owners in Bellary district.

But the large crowd of presspersons who sat through nearly three hours of Mr. Reddy's presentation of 450 pages of documents and a video CD were a disappointed lot. There was no direct evidence to prove his charge.

Mr. Reddy, however, claimed that what he had released was only the tip of the iceberg. "The evidence released now in the first phase is ample proof of how the Chief Minister's family has amassed wealth. What I have disclosed is only a tip of the iceberg and there are many more documents to prove the point. I will release them in a couple of instalments in consultation with my legal advisers. Presently, these documents are enough proof to order a thorough inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and I urge the Chief Minister to refer the case to the CBI," he said. The CD contains five clippings showing three persons, said to be mine owners. What they said was not clearly audible and their faces had been blurred and Mr. Reddy refused to disclose their identity. Mr. Reddy claimed that the faces had been blurred to protect those who had made the "disclosure."

To a question, he said he had submitted all the documents, including the video CDs, without masking the faces, to his advocate to present it before the High Court along with the writ petition seeking a direction to the State Government to refer the charges of corruption to the CBI for a detailed inquiry. The press conference was a disappointment for those who had come with the expectation that Mr. Reddy would make some startling disclosures in support of his bribery charge against the Chief Minister, Home Minister M.P. Prakash and Minister for Forests C. Chennigappa.

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