Bangalore: Yeddyurappa demands reinstatement as CM

TNN

Bangalore, 08 March 2012: Armed with a court order quashing the case that ousted him, former Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa has demanded an immediate reinstatement. 

 

The Karnataka HC on Wednesday quashed the references made against him in Chapter 22 of a report submitted by then Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde on illegal mining. A division bench also quashed sanction given by governor H R Bhardwaj to prosecute him and the FIR filed by Lokayukta police against Yeddyurappa. 

 

Making strong observations against the governor, the court said in its 56-page verdict: "The petitioner (Yeddyurappa) was condemned unheard, and there was flagrant violation of the principles of natural justice/fairness in administrative action and statutory provisions." 

 

Yeddyurappa, who went into a huddle with his followers, told them that since he has "come clean", it is up to the BJP leadership to honour its promise to reinstate him as CM. During his recent visit to Bangalore, BJP president Nitin Gadkari had asked Yeddyurappa to come clean in the illegal mining case before hoping to become CM again. 

 

There are five private complaints pending against Yeddyurappa before the special Lokayukta court. His name figures in three FIRs; police have given him a clean chit in two, and he is a co-accused in the third. 

 

 

The verdict has come as a shot in the arm for the beleaguered Lingayat leader, who sulked after the high command flatly refused to rehabilitate him till he came clean in all cases. Within hours of the division bench delivering the verdict, Yeddyurappa faxed copies of it to Gadkari, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and M Venkaiah Naidu. 

 

On the Lokayukta report, the bench maintained: "Lokayukta being a quasi-judicial authority, his decisions should be reasoned. When important rights of parties of far-reaching consequence are adjudicated in a summary fashion, without giving a personal hearing, where proposals are required to be examined, it would be directly destructive of judicial fair play and natural justice." 

 

Ruling out any more show of patience, sources close to Yeddyurappa said the leadership should reinstate him as chief minister in the next couple of days. The party leadership, while asking Yeddyurappa to step down, had said the BJP at the national level was unable to counter the UPA government and Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit on the issue of corruption. It had assured Yeddyurappa he would be reinstated if he came clean. 

 

"The HC has given Yeddyurappa a clean chit and rapped governor Bhardwaj’s sanction for his prosecution. 

 

The party bosses should now understand that Yeddyurappa had no role to play in illegal mining and was fixed in the Lokayukta report," a source close to Yeddyurappa said.