Bengaluru: Supreme Court on Monday allowed former Karnataka minister and MLA from Gangavati, Gali Janardhan Reddy, accused in a multi-million illegal mining case, to visit Ballari district.
He has so long been disallowed from entering his home district due to the illegal mining allegations. ''Navaratri festival will start from October 3 and I am going to visit Ballari this Thursday morning. I will first go to Gangavati, have darshan of Lord Hanuman and talk to the people who have given me political rebirth" MLA Janardhana Reddy said after the apex court order.
Reddy, who was the main accused in mining case, was arrested by CBI officials on September 5, 2011. He was granted conditional bail in 2015 in this case. But he was restricted by Supreme Court from entering Ballari, Anantapur and Kurnool districts over apprehensions of destruction of evidence. Thus, Reddy was away from Ballari for 13 years.
Talking to the mediapersons at Jagannath Bhavan, BJP state office in Malleswar, he said, "After 14 years, the Supreme Court has given permission to enter to Ballari. I will go to various temples in Ballari and offer prayers. I will stay in Ballari till my last breath," he said.
"The place of birth is special for everyone. Elders say that our hometown is better than any other town," he added.