Maysore : Under sustained attack from Congress, BJP today sought to blunt its campaign asking the Centre to take steps to stop illegal mining and ban export of iron ore.”The BJP government in Karnataka has taken a decision to check illegal mining in the state. Let the Centre, the prime minister and the finance minister also impose restrictions on illegal mining,” senior BJP leader L K Advani said.He was addressing a well-attended rally here, the penultimate in the series of four organised by BJP to counter the recent 320-km Congress ‘padayatra’ from Bangalore to the mine-rich Bellary, the home district of three state ministers and mining magnates Janardhana Reddy, Karunakara Reddy and B Sreeramulu, facing charges of illegal mining.After the BJP government came under fire over illegal mining and export of iron ore, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa issued orders last month banning export of iron ore from 10 ports and issue of transport permits.Advani demanded ban on export of iron ore saying “ensure that iron ore is not exported outside the country.Whatever value addition, let it take place within the country.” Lashing out at the UPA government for its ‘failure’ to curb prices, the former deputy prime minister said the Vajpayee administration gave “good governance” for six years.”In those years, people cannot forget that India became a nuclear power. People cannot forget prices were under control”, Advani said.”The whole country said there has been a prime minister (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) with no scandals or no scams of any kind and there was a good governance,” he said.In an obvious criticism of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said the PMO was the most important democratic institution and “for the past few years, this institution has been progressively devalued”.Advani also launched BJP’s campaign for the assembly bypolls from Gulbarga South and Kadur constituencies, to be held next month, and the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections expected to be held by the end of this year with an appeal to the electorate to support his party.At the rally, the BJP leaders vowed that they would not rest till implementation of the state’s legislation banning cow slaughter, which the Congress and JDS have been opposing.The leaders also used the platform to attack Congress leader Siddaramaiah, who led the Bellary Chalo padayatra, in his home turf, accusing him of not doing anything for the welfare of backward classes after projecting himself as their leader.