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The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership tried to influence Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde against mentioning Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's name in the mining report that is all set to be released in July.
"I was told by BJP leader Dhananjay Kumar (former Union minister from Mangalore) to go soft on Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa while preparing the report on illegal mining," said Justice Hegde.
"A couple of months ago, Dhananjay Kumar told me during an informal chat to go soft on the chief minister. I had told him clearly that he should not meet me if this is what he wanted to discuss. I had kept the incident under wraps and felt that I should not speak about it. But Kumar went around telling people that 'I had been settled' and the CM's name would not be mentioned in the mining report," he said.
"Why did he have to go around speaking like that when I had made my stand very clear to him? I got confirmation of what Kumar was saying when a BJP minister told me what he was saying about me. I don't like speaking out like this. But when there is a deliberate ploy to malign me, I thought I should speak up," said Hegde.
During that informal meeting, BJP ministers Dr V S Acharya and A G Kodgi were also present.
"They didn't try and influence me in any way. But Kumar had the audacity to threaten to file a defamation case against me. I needed to take the names of Kodgi and Acharya as they were present at that meeting," he said,
"When Kumar started maligning my name, I called Kodgi and told him. Later, Kumar called me again to speak about whatever had happened and I told him never to call me again. Despite this, he has threatened to take legal action against me when he was in the wrong and hence I decided to speak out," said Hegde.
The report on illegal mining is expected to have major ramifications in Karnataka's political circles. The Lokayukta, who is scheduled to retire in August, has said that the report will be out before the end of July. Hegde has refused to comment on whether this report would implicate the controversial Reddy brothers in Yeddyurappa's Cabinet.