Santosh Hegde says BJP asked him to spare BSY in report

Bangalore, Jul 22: The BJP which claimed to be the party with a difference, and staked to be the flag-bearer against corruption, has suffered a severe dent in its image with Santosh Hegde stating that the party tried to influence him to keep Yeddyurappa's name out of the report on the illegal mining scam.

B S Yeddyurappa, a senior BJP leader and the chief minister of Karnataka has been indicted in the Karnataka Lokayukta's report on the illegal mining scam.

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Hegde said, "The report is ready. No question of me yielding to their pressure...I am beyond all that. I have been a judge for six and a half years."

He, however ruled out any police action against the concerned leaders and said, "Everything doesn't require police action."

About BJP leader's approach to him on the report, he said, "If you are a lawyer, you don't go to a judge's house and complain about it. You go to an open court and say this is my defence. You don't bring other people who are also known to me to influence me...he had come to my chambers."

When enquired, whether they wanted only the chief minister's name to be dropped, the former judge said, "Yes". In the same interview, he also clarified that they did not speak for any other minister.

OneIndia News