Richie Rich runs into a wall

What's so cool about Gaali Janardhana Reddy, the more infamous of the Reddy brothers? S R Ramakrishna let's us know

Richie Rich runs into a wall

What's so cool about Gaali Janardhana Reddy, the more infamous of the Reddy brothers? S R Ramakrishna let's us know

He can whisk away and lock up MLAs as long as he wants, taunt chief minister Yeddyurappa to tears, and defy India's most powerful politicians. He drives around in the most expensive luxury cars, and flies in and out of his domain in his personal aircraft.

We know little about his younger days, but today, he is a czar who believes there's little the world money can't buy. And as any urchin in Karnataka will tell you, he has enough cash to throw around.

Brahmani Steels, which Reddy is promoting in Kadapa in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, will take Rs 6,850 crore to set up. And he has been going about saying he can do it without borrowing a rupee. Tell us, which industrialist in India, which Tata, Birla or Ambani, would have the balls to say such a thing? The Reddy brothersu00a0-- Janardhana, Karunakara and Somashekharau00a0-- hail from hot, dusty Bellary in northern Karnataka, but as for the rest of India, they have emerged from nowhere to hit the national headlines.u00a0

Just 10 years ago, in 1999, no one knew their names. They hitched their wagon to the BJP, and worked for Sushma Swaraj when she contested against Sonia Gandhi. Today, two of three brothers are ministers, and they have in their pockets a big chunk of the cabinet.

The Reddys also had a good thing going with Y S R Reddy, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, who, because he is a Congressman, ought to have been in the enemy camp. That cosy, cross-party bonding came to an end when Y S R died in a plane crash.

Last week, a committee appointed by the Supreme Court ordered a CBI inquiry into illegal mining. And yesterday, Andhra Pradesh banned mining, which means Janardhana Reddy will have no ready raw material for his steel plant.

It suddenly looks like there just may be a limit to what money can buy.

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