Cong leader reads into BJP's silence over bribery issue

Dharwad, Karnataka, July 26 (UNI) All India Congress Committee General Secretary Praveen Davar today said the BJP's silence over the bribery allegation levelled by one of its legislators against Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and two of his ministerial colleagues indicated that there was some truth in it.

Talking to newspersons here, he said senior BJP leaders, including A B Vajpayee, L K Advani and Rajnath Singh, have maintained a ''peculiar silence'' over the issue and it proved that there was truth in the allegation made by BJP legislator G Janardhana Reddy.

Mr Reddy was only suspended from the party and not expelled, he pointed out.

Mr Reddy had alleged that Mr Kumaraswamy and Forests Minister C Chennigappa had received a bribe of Rs 150 crore from the mining lobby in Bellary district and accused Home Minister M P Prakash of shielding his son in the illegal mining issue.

Mr Davar said the JD (S)-BJP coalition government in the state would collapse on its own and there was no need for the Congress to make any efforts. Only this fear had led former Prime Minister and JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda to utter the words 'let us go for elections,' he added.

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