Slip of tongue?

Lokayukta said BJP leaders are distancing themselves from Reddys after getting hints that their names might figure in illegal mining; later claims report wasn't leaked

Lokayukta said BJP leaders are distancing themselves from Reddys after getting hints that their names might figure in illegal mining; later claims report wasn't leaked
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Senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj created a flutter by disowning the Reddy brothers, who are regarded as her 'political children', and Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde added to the confusion by stating that the drama was due to his yet-to-be submitted report on illegal mining.


Said what? Lokayukta's statement created ripples as it amounted to
leakage of the report before it is submitted. File pic

While interacting with a national channel yesterday, Hegde gave a sound byte suggesting that senior BJP leaders were distancing themselves from the Reddy brothers after getting hints that the report might links their names to illegal mining.

The statement created ripples as it amounted to leakage of the report before it is submitted. The Lokayukta submitted a report on illegal mining two years ago and it is expected to give a second report in a week's time.

'Not what I said'
While the second report is expected to be more explosive, as it is being prepared in the backdrop of sensational ore theft case and hinted to be talking about many political bigwigs, Hegde's banter gave rise to a sort of uproar in the political circle.

Reacting to the turbulence, Hegde sought to clarify, "I never said my report had leaked. All that I said is that the senior BJP leaders might have distanced themselves from the Reddys, fearing that their names might come under cloud, while many agencies are probing the issue."

Fact sharing
Apart from the Lokayukta, CBI and an empowered committee appointed by the Supreme Court are investigating the illegal mining case and have exchanged notes amongst themselves.

In fact, the Lokayukta was expected to submit the report before March 31 this year as per its self-imposed deadline. Hegde had said he was postponing the submission owing to the ongoing investigation by the other agencies.