India
BJP has distanced itself from party's former minister Janardhan Reddy. We have nothing to do with Janardhan Reddy. He is not a BJP man anymore. So the party has nothing to say anything about him, said BJP spokesperson Prakash.
Ballari: Mining baron, Janardhan Reddy, who is out on a bail in the illegal mining case, is on the run. Currently, he is accused of bribing an Enforcement Directorate official and City Crime Branch (CCB) police are on the lookout.
Gali Janardhan Reddy is said to be the powerhouse of Ballari in Karnataka. Teams of police are searching for him at his farm house in the district, in Bengaluru and in Molakalmur. It is said that one team is trying to nab him in Hyderabad too. But Reddy is nowhere to be seen.
He is accused of bribing an Enforcement Directorate official in Bengaluru to save the owner of Ambident company, charged with a ponzi scam.
ALSO READ: Janardhan Reddy accused of bribing Enforcement Directorate official in Bengaluru
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Interestingly, though the CCB was trying to nab Janardhan Reddy since 15 days, the news has come up now and the search has been intensified soon after the announcement of by-election results.
By-election was held in Karnataka on November 3 for five constituencies including Ballari Lok Sabha constituency. The results were announced yesterday (November 6).
Accordingly, Ballari was a stronghold of Reddy brothers and his close friend Sriramulu, who was the previous MP from the district. He gave up his MP seat to contest the Assembly election and was elected as MLA of Molakalmur.
For the Lok Sabha by-election in Ballari constituency, J Shantha, Sriramulu's sister and family friend of Janardhan Reddy, was made to contest against Congress's veteran VS Ugrappa. Despite the fact that he doesn't hail from Ballari, Ugrappa won the election with a considerable margin against Shantha.
It can be noted that Ballari was Congress's stronghold from 1951 to 2004, till Janardhan Reddy entered the political scene. With Reddy's help, his brother Karunakara Reddy won the MP election for the first time in 2004. Since then, Congress tried hard, but couldn't enter the Ballari bastion politically.
BJP leaders Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu had said that Congress used liquor and money power to win the Ballari seat.
Thus, the timings of intensifying search for Reddy's arrest is also coinciding the by-election results. It looks like this is the first major operation of Congress, trying to weaken the position of Reddy brothers' influence in Ballari, say sources.
Speaking to MyNation, BJP dpokesperson S Prakash clarified that BJP has nothing to do with Janardhan Reddy. He is not a BJP man anymore. So the party has nothing to say anything about him, Prakash said.
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