After Congress march, Reddys hold pujas in Bellary

Mangalore Today News Network

Bellary, August 10:  The Reddy brothers were not home when the Congress marched into Bellary, challenging the mining barons on their home turf.   The march - more than 300 kilometres covered in 16 days by Congress leaders - was a clear attempt to reclaim Bellary from the BJP government.  At a rally attended by thousands, Congress leaders attacked the government for looting the state through extensive illegal mining. Target: the Reddys, who are also ministers.

On Tuesday, the Reddys retaliated with a series of public pujas to "purify the city and remove the Congress dhrishti  (ward off the evil eye of the Congress)," said Janardhana Reddy. But it’s not just divine intervention that the moguls need; there’s the more earthly matter of their party beginning to rethink their prizefighter status. BJP sources in Delhi say the party has decided that it’s time to reign in the Reddys, who have for months undermined their Chief Minister, BS Yeddyurappa.

In court, evidence has been presented to show the Reddys encroached into reserved forest area.  Their legal trouble intertwined with huge reception for the Congress march on Monday reinforced that perhaps this is the right time for the BJP to take action against the brothers.

That agenda reportedly includes giving the go-ahead to Yeddyurappa to show he’s the boss by being firmer with the Reddys, and those who support them.  The idea is to stop the mining barons from functioning as a parallel power centre.

Last year, the Reddys orchestrated a rebellion which included 60 BJP MLAs.  They wanted Yeddyurappa to stop any action that threatened to impact their business - higher taxes on trucks transporting iron ore was among their pet peeves. As they threatened to split the BJP, the party caved in, with Yeddyurappa breaking down in public but agreeing nevertheless to sack a minister who had irked the Reddys.