K’taka Polls: SC Rejects Janardhana Reddy’s Ballari Campaign Plea

Supreme Court says it does not find any merit in his plea to campaign in Ballari.

File photo of Janardhan Reddy. 

(Photo: PTI)

The Supreme Court on Friday, 4 May, dismissed the plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader G Janardhan Reddy for letting him go to Ballari to campaign for his brother, who is a candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. Reddy is currently out on bail in the mining scam and is prohibited from entering Ballari district as per his bail conditions.

The apex court said that it did not find any merit in the plea to campaign in Ballari and dismissed it, reported ANI.

The BJP has selected G Karunakara Reddy and G Somashekar Reddy, elder and younger brothers of the mining scam-tainted Janardhan Reddy, to contest from Harpanahalli and Ballari seats.

In a scathing attack, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, earlier in April, dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify why the BJP gave tickets to Karnataka's tainted Reddy brothers to contest the May 12 Assembly elections.

“Modi, who talks about fighting corruption, must explain to the people why he is supporting the corrupt Reddy brothers by giving ticket to contest in the state Assembly polls,” said Gandhi at the public meeting.

The BJP has also fielded Lallesh Reddy, nephew of Reddy brothers, from the BTM Layout segment in Bengaluru against state Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy of the ruling Congress.

Accusing Modi of allegedly changing the country's premier investigation agency CBI to "Central Bureau of Illegal Mining," Gandhi charged the Prime Minister with supporting the Reddy family in the state.

(With inputs from IANS and ANI)

(The Quint is now on WhatsApp. To receive handpicked stories on topics you care about, subscribe to our WhatsApp services. Just go to TheQuint.com/WhatsApp and hit send)