Sunday, July 17, 2011

What Lok Ayukta Justice Hegde really said...

Excerpts of an interview with Rediff

"I was told by BJP leader Dhananjay Kumar (former Union minister from Mangalore) to go soft on Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa while preparing the report on illegal mining," said Justice Hegde.

"A couple of months ago, Dhananjay Kumar told me during an informal chat to go soft on the chief minister. I had told him clearly that he should not meet me if this is what he wanted to discuss. I had kept the incident under wraps and felt that I should not speak about it. But Kumar went around telling people that 'I had been settled' and the CM's name would not be mentioned in the mining report," he said.

"Why did he have to go around speaking like that when I had made my stand very clear to him? I got confirmation of what Kumar was saying when a BJP minister told me what he was saying about me. I don't like speaking out like this. But when there is a deliberate ploy to malign me, I thought I should speak up," said Hegde.

"During that informal meeting, BJP minister Dr V S Acharya and A G Kodgi were also present.

"They didn't try and influence me in any way. But Kumar had the audacity to threaten to file a defamation case against me. I needed to take the names of Kodgi and Acharya as they were present at that meeting," he said,"

Dr VSA: I have never gone to Justice Santosh Hegde seeking personal favours. I have known his family for almost 30 years and have been to his house several times...

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