JOIN USHome Minister K J George said on Wednesday that the State government has no role in the illegal denotification and mining cases being handled by Lokayukta and CBI.
Reacting to statements made by former chief ministers B S Yeddyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy about the Congress being vindictive, George said that there is no political conspiracy involved in this regard.
The illegal denotification case and other irregularities were highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), after which RTI activist Vijaykumar Hiremath had moved the High Court, demanding a CBI probe into the matter. The court directed him to approach the Lokayukta, following which, a complaint was filed by Hiremath on April 10, 2013. The Congress government was not in power at that time, he said. The Lokayukta had directly asked the CID to probe the case and the investigating agency had submitted its report. Likewise, it was unwarranted for the opposition leaders to condemn the government for not initiating any action in the illegal mining case, as the CBI was handling the case, he asserted.
When asked about the rise in chain snatching cases, George said gangs from Hyderabad and Maharashtra, were known to come into the State by trains, commit the crime, and escape immediately, making it difficult for the department to entirely prevent the crime.