MOLAKALMURU: Former tourism minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy on Monday expressed a threat to his life and alleged negligence on part of the Karnataka government in providing him with security.
Speaking to TNIE in the backdrop of by-elections to the Ballari Parliamentary constituency, Reddy said that, he had submitted a letter requesting the government to provide security for him. His appeal, he says was rejected twice by the previous Siddaramaiah government.
Citing the example of the neighbourkng state of Telangana, Janardhana Reddy said that during his visits to the court at Hyderabad, the Telangana government was providing ‘Y’ category security. "However our own government is not interested in providing security for me," he said.
"Again an application has been submitted to the present Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday and we want to see where it might end up," he added.
Taking a dig at the Kumaraswamy government he said, "The state government is leaving no stone unturned to denigrate my image. Along which this intelligence bureau is constantly keeping a
vigilance on me and monitoring every movement of mine, which is sad."
"My life is under threat and it is difficult to move freely. However, I am working without fear to ensure that the BJP nominee B Shantha wins the by-elections and becomes a parliament member for second time," Reddy said.
Replying to a question on the BJP national president Amit Shah refusing to accept Gali Janardhana Reddy as a BJP member, he said, "Circumstances might have led him to give that statement. I will travel all over the state next month and ensure that BJP returns to power. I will work as a BJP party fan and no one can stop me from this."