The Bomb Is Still Ticking

The moment BJP legislator Janaradhan Reddy had concluded his press meet in Bellary after showing a CD containing masked images and disjointed speech, there was disappointment writ large on the faces of media persons and politicians. They thought there was hardly any evidence to prove his mega accusation of the chief minister, his confidantes and family members collecting a bribe of Rs 150 crore from Bellary mine owners. When they were expecting a full-length movie with scenes of Kumaraswamy collecting and counting a wad of currency notes, they were shown a poor trailer that would not inspire one to catch up with the movie later. Was it all a hoax? There was a serious question of credibility that had confronted Reddy.

But early on Thursday morning, speaking to Outlook, Reddy had a smirk on his face. He indicated that he was fully in control and knew what he was doing: "I expected this. The media has concentrated only on the CD, they have not had the patience to go through the hundreds of pages of documents that I have distributed along with the CD. Any lawyer, any chartered accountant or financial wizard will explain the implications of what I have released. If you noticed, the CM is also cleverly reacting only to the CD, he is saying it is fabricated, but why is he not commenting on the documents I have released. The account details of his sister-in-law, Kavita, that I have put out is simply mind boggling. All illegally collected money has been routed through her personal bank account to the rest of the Gowda family. She has been their Reserve Bank. Verify the dates and you will realise that money multiplied in her account several hundred times after Kumaraswamy became the CM. Where did she get that money from? Is she a business woman? Does she have a firm? And let me assure you what people have seen is only tip of the iceberg. I have more coming, I believe in a staggered approach," he said confidently.

But when asked why he had to disappoint people at the very first go? He said: "It is not about disappointing anybody, I have eight CDs, what I have released is only one CD. The rest I have submitted to the High Court supporting my petition to order a CBI enquiry into the matter. You cannot overtake the judicial process. Also, even if I had shown a CD with more dramatic visuals and clear faces they would have still dubbed it as fabricated." But when asked if the CM and his family members are on the other CDs, he clearly said: "Yes." This means that not all is over yet as far as the churning in Karnataka's politics is concerned.

Senior BJP leaders, who have had access to Reddy's other CDs also confirm that not all is over. "Reddy is a clever guy. He has only sent a message to the Gowda family now, these are only stray pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and the Gowda family understands the significance of these pieces. When you are taking on a CM and a former PM you have to watch every step and strategise. If the Gowda family had nothing to fear then why was the CM and his officers putting so much of pressure in the last few days on Bellary miners to stop Reddy from making the disclosure?" A BJP leader asked. 

But senior JD(U) leader Basavaraj Bommai is impatient. He says: "If there is hard evidence Reddy should come forward and be done with it. It is not about an individual politician, the whole system is at stake. This kind of uncertainty has a negative impact on development works, on the bureacracy and governance in general." 

Even assuming that the Reddy bark fails to bite the CM for now, there is another legal hassle trying to catch up with him. A Bellary court has issued summons to him in the criminal defamation case that Reddy has filed. Kumaraswamy had called Reddy "insane" after he had first made the mining bribe allegations. Being a criminal defamation case, the CM has to depose in person on September 7 for cross-examination. So the big question is: what will he do to avoid lowering the dignity of the office he is holding? In 2004, in a similar situation, Uma Bharati had to demit office, to attend the Hubli court. 

Again, what will happen if the HC admits the petition that Reddy has submitted before it for a CBI inquiry in the matter? Since mining is on the concurrent list, there is a view being expressed that the HC can direct the central agency to take up the matter.

There are also some very uneasy questions being asked in political circles, which will soon hit the public domain, about Kumaraswamy and his "friends." The more serious ones pertain to his cabinet colleague Zameer Ahmed, who has now fallen out of the Gowda family's favour. Zameer and Kumaraswamy are said to have made trips in the past to Dubai and Kumaraswamy made one after he became CM too. The questions being raised are: What did the two do in Dubai? Do they have business interests there? Have they made investments there? Why is the quarrel between Zameer (who was seen as the CM's right-hand man and someone who drove his National Travels bus with MLAs from the resort to Raj Bhavan when Kumaraswamy staked claim to form the government) and Kumaraswamy? The CMs other businesses like Kasturi Media Pvt. Ltd., Shakambari Enterprises and Amogh Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd have also come under close scrutiny. 

These technical details aside, the political situation too is getting volatile in the state. It appears Kumaraswamy can't get the monkey off his back. "In the history of our state, there has not been another CM who has been so disgraced and so early. He is brazen and thick-skinned. There is no future if we stick with him," says a disgruntled JD (S) MLA. The BJP is also a divided house with the Ananth Kumar faction and the Yediyurappa faction at each others' neck. Top sources in the Congress reveal that prominent JD(S) MLAs like Santosh Lad and Zameer Ahmed have already met Opposition leader Dharam Singh and have expressed the desire to crossover. The number of JD(S) MLAs who want to crossover is pegged at 30, which will easily give a simple majority to the Congress to form a government.

There is also a view within the Congress that with JD(S) in doldrums and BJP having lost all credibility for hanging to power despite the thick charges flying against its coalition partner, Congress will sweep the polls if the house is dissolved. Former deputy CM Siddaramaiah, who recently crossed over from JD(S) to the Congress says: "Some JD(S) legislators are in touch with me. But my personal opinion is that it is not a wise thing to form a government. We should go to polls and people will vote us to power." But since majority of the legislators are not ready for the polls, will Congress utilise the opportunity to hit back at the Gowda family, which had dumped it so badly in January last and will it be Dharam Singh again? Or, will just Kumaraswamy go and the existing coalition continue with minor alterations? The scenario is fast changing.