BSY's son denies kickbacks were paid to his father

Bangalore: Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's son, Vijayendra, on Thursday refuted allegations that his father received kickbacks from mining baron R Praveen Chandra towards issuing mining licence to him during his tenure as Chief Minister.

There is no truth in the allegations that Yeddyurappa received Rs 6 crore from Praveen Chandra to the companies owned by his family, he said in a statement.

Dharwad-based Samaj Parivartan Samudaya (SPS), an NGO fighting against illegal mining, had submitted fresh documents during the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee hearing on February 18, claiming that real estate firms owned by Yeddyurappa's family allegedly received Rs six crore kickbacks in return for granting 330-acre mining lease to Chandra in Chitradurga district in October 2010.

Two companies owned by Yeddyurappa's family had received Rs six crore as unsecured loan during November 2009 through cheques after entering into an agreement,Vijayendra clarified.

The two companies had refunded Rs one crore during November 2009 and Rs 1.5 crore during April 2011 respectively through cheques to Praveen Chandra, he said.

Vijayendra said Chandra s mining application was under process since February 2002 and approved by the Central Government on February 28 2006 when Yeddyurappa was not the chief minister. "After Central Government's recommendation on October 12 2010, the state government passed final notification order," he added.

Vijayendra said when the matter was already in the lower court,S R Hiremath, representing SPS, had filed representation to CEC to probe the matter further and alleged it was politically motivated.

CEC report dated March 28 2012 clearly states that "the mining operations of Praveen Chandra are completely legal and falls under A category of mining companies. However in the interest of the public, the above cheque transactions need to be investigated," Vijayendra said.

"If you go through the sequence of the cheque transactions, it is very clear that there is no illegality in any manner," he said.