Unfazed by mining charges, 2 MLAs to attend session

 

Bellary: Two of  the four MLAs arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for involvement in the  Belekeri port iron ore export scam are likely to  attend the winter session of the state legislature beginning on November 25 at the Suvarna Soudha in Belgaum.

 

While all four jailed legislators have been duly informed about the winter session through official notices, only the independent MLAs, B Nagendra of Kudligi and Satish Sail of Karwar have decided to attend the session.

 

Nagendra was granted conditional bail on November  21 by the CBI special court in Bangalore to attend the session under police vigil and Sail has applied for  bail to 

be able to participate in it as well.

 

BSR Congress MLA of Kampli , Suresh Babu and BJP MLA of Hospet, Anand Singh have , however, decided not to apply for bail as they are reportedly afraid that attending the Belgaum session in police custody as undertrials and with the headlines referring to them as “prisoner MLAs” may damage their image further.  

 

Singh is said to have decided to keep away to also avoid  embarrassing the BJP  which is all ready to take on the Siddaramaiah  government on information minister,  Santosh Lad's alleged illegal mining operations and the implementation of the Lokayukta report on the mining scam in the House.

 

But the two MLAs could  present questions related to grant of funds and public grievances to the concerned ministers while still in prison, sources add.