Reddy's reply to show cause notice sent to BJP top brass

Bangalore, Aug 24 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party President Sadananda Gowda today said he had forwarded to the Central leadership the reply given by suspended party member G Janardhana Reddy, MLC, to the show cause notice issued by the party.

The party had placed the member under suspension following an act of indiscipline and had sought explanation through a notice recently.

Mr Reddy had stirred a hornet's nest a few weeks ago by levelling an allegation that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Forests Minister C Chennigappa had received a bribe of Rs 150 crore from the mining lobby in Bellary district. Though he had retracted his statement following the intervention of the top brass of the BJP, he soon stuck to his earlier charge, prompting the party to suspend him on disciplinary grounds.

Mr Reddy had yesterday released documentary evidences such as CDs audio tapes to prove his charge and also moved the Karnataka High Court seeking a CBI probe into the entire episode.

To a question, Mr Gowda declined to reveal the contents of the reply and merely said he had already forwarded the letter to the party top brass for further action. The party was not worried about the disclosures made by Mr Reddy yesterday, he added.

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