BJP refuses to comment on Justice Hegde's unreleased illegal mining report

New Delhi, July 21 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday refused to comment on the leaked report of the Karnataka Lokayukta JUstice (retired) Santosh Hegde, which indicts Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and several party ministers in the state's illegal mining business.

BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the party would react after reading the 8,000-page report.

"The so called report by the Lokayukta is yet to be presented to the government officials. Whatever have been the reports in the media are selective leaks. I don't want to say anything about how these selective leaks have happened but I cannot and you will also not expect me to comment on selective leaks. We will give appropriate full reaction and response after the report is made public, after it is submitted because as it is reported again by the media it is 8,000 page document. So you will also require time and we will also take time," he said.

The Lokayukta is conducting enquiries into the cases of illegal mining and distribution of government land.

Justice Hegde had earlier confirmed that Yeddyurappa has been indicted in his report for his indirect involvement in the illegal mining scam.

Hegde, who is also the former judge of India's apex court, will submit his report to the Chief Secretary on Friday.

However, Chief Minister Yeddyurappa had rejected Justice Hegde's earlier report on illegal mining, submitted in December 2008, and ordered formulation of another committee to conduct the investigation.

The BJP leader tried to put the Congress in the dock, citing the example of the Shunglu panel report on the Commonwealth Games scam.

"There is report of Shunglu which is submitted and which has indicted the Delhi chief minister, Sheila Dikshit which also Manmohan Singh, the cleanest Prime Minister has shelved the report despite his assurance that it will handed over to CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation or federal police)," added Javadekar.

The panel was formed to probe irregularities in the organisation of October 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Javadekar further affirmed that if the investigation in cash for vote scam progresses in the right direction then the names of the corrupt Congress leaders would come out in open within 15 days.

"Cash-for-vote is the business of Congress party. Our leaders have acted as a whistle blower in this corruption scandal. The investigation is in progress and this is our belief that if the investigation progresses in the right direction, then in 15 days everything will come out clear. The names of all the corrupt Congress leaders which acted on Amar Singh's direction will come out in open," added Javadekar.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday (July 20) arrested Sohail Hindustani, a suspect and an alleged middleman, for his role in the cash-for-vote scam case of 2008.ccording to media reports, Hindustani has been charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Hindustani, who also happens to be former worker of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, said he had acted as a middleman between Amar Singh, a federal lawmaker along with other leaders and the low-key lawmakers to whom cash was paid.

He had also stated that Singh had confessed that he was acting on the instructions of the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Hindustani is the second victim of the scam, after the first victim Sanjeev Saxena was arrested by Delhi Police on July 17.

The cash-for-votes scam had rocked proceedings in the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament) in 2008, when the ruling United Progressive Alliance, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, allegedly bribed lawmakers of other parties with an aim to win the confidence vote. (ANI)