Bellary: Once upon a time Bellary was a neglected area, but precious under the British. They had a Cantonment and an airport there, which fell into disuse. A dry and hot area, it was uninviting and people would escape it if possible. The Tungabhadra Sagar dam revived hopes but still, the congress in 40 years did not realize it was sit on a hill of iron ore either above the surface or below it.
What Congress neglected all those decades, including a MP seat for Sonia rejected after her victory and given to K.C Kondiah, is now coveted by it after BJP transformed the city. The Reddy Bros (3) and Sriramulu, their henchman, were riding on cycles then, a Congress leader pointed out, they are riding in costly cars and Nans since 5 years now. The Congress began mining iron ore and the Gali Reddys were in Anantpur and border areas of Andhra.
Now no Congress leader owns Bellary, after N. Dharam Singh went out on a fixed term of 20 months. Kumaraswamy did not do any mining as CM, but collected Rs 50 per a lorry load of ore leaving Bellary mines, and made Rs 150 crores, not a negligible amount. He had Bookanakere Yeddyurappa as Dy CM for company who suspended Gali Janardhana Reddy then (2006) but Gali J. Reddy and his younger brother, Karunakara who was an MP and later turned MLA and Revenue Minster under BJP rule, helped Yeddyurappa to win elections and buy some rebel MLAs to gain majority.
The two brothers managed to shift the border stones at Obalapuram in AP with to gain majority. The two brothers managed to shift the border stones at Obalapuram in AP with Andhra CM late. Rajashekhar Reddy conniving with them to loot export wealth under illegal mining. Now, Congress opened its eyes during lokayukta’s resignation episode and seizes the opportunity to take illegal mining and exports as a striking stick against BJP, it conducted a Padayatra BJP would not be cowed down like a soldier running away would not be cowed down like a soldier running away from battle field, and arranged a huge rally on Aug. 20, when Sushma Swaraj appeared like Varamahaluxmi in the hometown of Reddys, which also once belonged to her, as the losing candidate against Sonia.
In yesterday’s rally, the same Bellary people night have gathered to hear her, who had earlier gathered to hear RV Deshpande, Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Motamma. People are the same but rallies were different. Sushma accused the Congress of throwing a bait and a net over Gali Reddy Brothers, when Congress had earlier done nothing to elevate Bellary as a city for 50 years, Kondiah or Sonia G. now Bellary has changed because of the 3 Reddys and 2 others (Sri Ramulu and Shanta) for the better with their mining wealth involved.
The illegality needs no enquiry commissions to prove and Gali Janardhana is right when he said he did not mine in Bellary but in Andhra, but Tapal Ganesh had proved that the Reddys had shifted the border stones. After that, no one seems to be guilty in BJP. Sushma denied she took any money (bag or cover) from Reddys who were like sons to her Eashwarappa threatened Congress leaders telling lies to uproot BJP, which was patriotic to the root, to save iron ore for Indians and not for exports.
Now it has to be seen, when two cooks are at war, who will feed the people hungry and tired of fighting in their name in a democracy.