Former Karnataka CM acquitted in bribery case
Senior BJP leader from Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa (BSY) was today acquitted by a CBI court in Bangalore, Karnataka. BSY had been accused of receiving kickbacks of Rs 40 crore during his term as CM as quid pro quo for allowing illegal mining in Karnataka. He had been forced to vacate his position as Chief Minister when he was found guilty by Karnataka's ombudsman.
The BS Yeddyurappa corruption case
Karnataka's Lokayukta, Santosh Hegde, had found BS Yeddyurappa, his two sons and his son-in-law guilty of colluding in illegal iron-ore mining in the mineral-rich Bellary district of Karnataka. Investigators had claimed that mining-licenses were granted for kickbacks in the form of donations made to trusts run by Yeddyurappa and family. In 2011, Yeddyurappa was sent to prison for three-weeks before being released on bail.
Allegations against BS Yeddyurappa
The Lokayukta-report recommended the prosecution of BS Yeddyurappa (BSY) under 'Prevention of corruption Act' and Karnataka Governor approved his prosecution. Allegations against BSY were with respect to two cases: de-notifying land around Bangalore to benefit his sons and son-in-law and granting of mining licenses for bribes. Others accused in the Bellary mining-scam were BSY's sons and son-in-law, JSW Steel and four of its affiliates.
BSY and BJP: Twists and turns
In July 2011, under pressure from BJP's central leadership, BSY resigned; reportedly, BJP had acted swiftly with respect to BSY as for the upcoming Parliament session, they planned to aggressively attack UPA on corruption-charges. BSY then resigned from the BJP in November 2012 and floated his own party. Just before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he announced the merger of his party with BJP.
BJP loses Karnataka to Congress
The massive corruption case against BSY had serious repercussions for the BJP. It lost its only state in the south of India as in the 2013 state assembly elections, Karnataka voted in a Congress government.
Reactions across political parties
Immediately after the acquittal, BSY tweeted, "Satyameva Jayate. Justice is done. I stand vindicated." He also thanked his supporters and well wishers for standing by him. Current Congress CM of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said, "Court has given him clean chit because of lack of evidence. It doesn't mean that Yeddyurappa didn't make mistake."
