CEC to submit report today; BSY keeps fingers crossed

Panel will recommend if CBI should probe money transfer to trusts run by ex-CMs kin

All eyes will be on the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), appointed by the Supreme Court, with the panel set to submit a crucial report on Friday, on its decision on whether the transfer of money by mining companies to trusts run by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa’s kin should be probed by the CBI.

Apart from this, the CEC will make a suggestion on whether the central agency probe is required into the illegal export of seized iron ore from the Belekeri port in Uttara Kannada district.

The high-level panel headed by P V Jayakrishanan, which has gone through voluminous documents submitted by Dharwad-based NGO Samaja Parivartana Samudaya (SPS), will submit its report to the Apex Court green bench headed by Justice S H Kapadia.

The report is eagerly awaited by Yeddyurappa, who has been demanding his reinstatement.

The former chief minister is hoping that if the CEC decides against the CBI probe, the decks will be cleared for him to become the chief minister again.

 The BJP central leadership too is waiting for the report before taking any decision on giving a suitable post to Yeddyurappa or allowing Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda to go head with Cabinet expansion.

Quid pro quo

 SPS, which demanded a CBI probe into the alleged nexus between corporate houses and people in power, alleged that some of the land denotification done by Yeddyurappa when he was in power and subsequent sale of the said properties to mining companies was nothing but quid pro quo.

Huge donations

Petitioners S R Hiremath and P Vishnu Kamath from SPS have alleged that over 12 firms and trusts run by family members of Yeddyurappa, including Prerana Trust, Bhagat Homes Private Limited, Davalagiri Property Developers Private Limited and Sahyadri Health Care Limited received huge donations from mining companies in return for mining leases.

The SPS alleged that the said documents showed that companies belonging to family members of Yeddyurappa received Rs six crore from R Praveen Chandra, who got the mining lease in Chitradurga district. The NGO also submitted documents pertaining to Rachenahalli land denotification case to the CEC.