Yet to receive Governor's letter on land scams: Yeddyurappa

Yeddyurappa told reporters he had not received the second letter from Bhardwaj, who in his first missive had asked for a report on the mining affairs of three ministers from Bellary district, G Janardhana Reddy, his brother Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy and their associate B Sreeramulu.

Sources said Bhardwaj has annexed media reports on land scams and other allegations against the Chief Minister and members of his family.

The charges had deeply embarrassed the BJP government and almost led to the exit of Yeddyurappa before he earned a reprieve from the party top brass.

Bharadwaj's letter comes ahead of Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections to be held later this month, seen as a major electoral test for the BJP after it was hit by land scam charges.

The land scams claimed its first political victim early this month with Katta Subramanya Naidu resigning from the ministry after Lokayukta filed an FIR against him and ten others in connection with some irregularities in the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).

Yeddyurappa claimed BJP would sweep local body elections and people would give a befitting reply to opposition parties, who have been "misleading" the people of the state. He also added that he planned cabinet expansion after the civic polls.