Congress claims victory, now wants prized scalp

BANGALORE: The Congress on Wednesday demanded that Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa should step down from his post immediately following his indictment in the final report on the alleged illegal mining submitted by the Lokayukta.Addressing a press conference, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Commmittee (KPCC) Dr G Parameshwara said that the leaked information appeared in the both print and visual media on the alleged indictment of the chief minister by Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde in the illegal mining report had been corroborated in the final report.The KPCC president also appealed to Governor H R Bhardwaj to initiate immediate action, including criminal proceedings against chief minister and other ministers, who were indicted by the Lokayukta in the report.Observing that the chief minister had lost not only the morality but also the mandate to remain in his office, Parameshwar felt that Yeddyurappa should step down immediately.He said the party would initiate action against Congress leaders who were named in the report, after studying the voluminous report running into thousands of pages.Parameshwara also demanded Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy whose name was also mentioned in the Lokayukta report, to resign from the Lok Sabha immediately.Claiming that Congress fought against the illegal mining which resulted in the indictment of the chief minister and a few of his cabinet ministers, he said, “It is a Congress victory which took up the issue both inside and outside of the Legislature on a mission mode.” Parameshwara also complimented the Lokayukta and his team for hard work and unearthing the menace of the illegal mining.He said that Congress will launch a state-wide agitation if the chief minister continues to stick to his chair still.Meanwhile, at a separate press conference, Opposition leader in the Legislative Assembly Siddaramaiah also demanded Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s resignation on moral grounds following the submission of the report.He urged the Governor to seek resignation from Yeddyurappa without any further delay.