Mysuru: Former Lokayukta Justice N Santhosh Hegde has come down heavily upon former minister and mining baron G Janardhan Reddy for the lavish wedding preparations going on as part of the latter’s daughter’s wedding.
Justice Hegde has said that the extravagant wedding is going to be hosted using the money swindled from the government’s exchequer and that Reddy is showing to the world that there are several uses of money amassed through illegitimate means.
Alleging that Reddy had paid royalty of Rs 27 to the government and sold one metric ton iron ore to China at a romping Rs 7000, Justice Hegde said that the money thus made is now being put to good use.
He meanwhile opined that there is conspiracy going on to kill the office of Lokayukta. “Lokayukta is one organisation, which is immensely popular among the people. Hence shutting it down all of a sudden will spark unrest and it would have negative impact on poll outcome. Hence efforts are being made to strangle the organisation slowly. There is an immediate need to step up the security at the Lokayukta office considering the importance of the documents available there,” he said.
Justice Hegde also said that at an age of 77, he is not keen on holding any position anymore.
Instead, he said that there are several youth in the country who must be given an opportunity.
