Janardhana Reddy gets bail, accuses HDK of revenge politics

BENGALURU: Minutes after he stepped out of Bengaluru’s central jail, former minister and mining baron G Janardhana Reddy launched a vitriolic attack on CM HD Kumaraswamy, likening him to a cobra which waited 12 years to seek revenge.
Reddy, an accused in the Rs 600-crore Ambidant Marketing scam, was released on bail three days after he was arrested on charges of laundering Rs 18 crore.
Reddy told reporters that his arrest was a result of “a 12-year political vendetta” by Kumaraswamy, who had “waited for an opportunity” to malign the former BJP minister for levelling bribery charges against him.Reddy had accused Kumaraswamy of taking a bribe of Rs 150 crore in 2006.
In 2006, Kumaraswamy had sent 1,500 policemen to Ballari to arrest me. But they could not do it. Now, after 12 years, he has taken revenge by putting me behind bars. He (CM) is now laughing a demon’s laugh, but it is temporary.
Every person gets his turn.
— G Janardhana Reddy
‘CM used police to file false case against me’
Likening Kumaraswamy to a cobra — popular belief goes that the reptile can nurse notions of revenge for 12 years against anyone who harms it — Reddy said, the CM used the police to file a false case against him to make him a “laughing stock” and “damage his image in public”.
Reddy launched a scathing attack on Alok Kumar and his deputy S Girish, the two senior police officers of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) which is investigating the Ambidant case.
“Alok Kumar and Girish are honest police officers serving honest politicians and Kumaraswamy,” Reddy said with sarcasm. “Such honest officers should be deployed at places like Jammu and Kashmir, where violence is rampant.”
Reddy insisted he has nothing to do with the Ambidant ponzi scheme, but said family and relatives of Ali Khan, his close confidant, had invested Rs 70 lakh in schemes offered by the company. He said they had sought his help to get the money back.
“I had advised the management of Ambidant Marketing not to play around with people’s money,” Reddy said. “One day they came to my hotel room and felicitated me for extending moral support. At that time, a few pictures were taken. None of the CCB officials, including Alok Kumar, can explain the grounds on which they arrested me. The remand application submitted in court has no allegations against me.”
Earlier, deputy chief minister and home minister G Parameshwara backed police saying they do not make arrests without proper evidence or case. “It is a false allegation to say that Reddy’s arrest was politically motivated,” he said.
TRIBUTE TO ANANTH
Reddy rued missing the funeral of BJP leader HN Ananth Kumar, who passed away early Monday, and recalled his association with the former minister. He said it was Kumar who had stopped him from making a bad investment in a commercial airline. “When Kumar was the Union civil aviation minister, I had approached him with a proposal of starting a flight service between Tirupati and Hospet via Bengaluru. I was willing to invest Rs 20 crore, but he warned me not to enter the business,” Reddy said.
Reddy said Kumar also encouraged him to grow in politics. “In early 2000, Kumar groomed me as a politician. Whatever I am today it is just because of him. It is unfortunate that I could not attend his funeral.”