Sack Anand Singh as forest minister, SR Hiremath tells CM

Hubballi: Amid a raging debate over the appointment of BS Anand Singh as the Karnataka forest minister – the senior politician’s interests in mining business has become a bone of contention with environmentalists and opposition parties crying foul – president of Citizens for Democracy and activist SR Hiremath on Wednesday urged chief minister BS Yediyurappa to divest Singh of the portfolio. Hiremath said that the CM’s failure to do so would compel him to explore legal options to achieve his objective.
“It goes against the interests of the people and principles of democracy to give the forest department portfolio to someone accused in several cases of illegal mining. He has been arrested twice, and incarcerated in connection with these cases. He had absconded, and was abroad before he was caught and imprisoned. Yediyurappa must not have allocated this department to Singh, who is charged with destroying forests in the state,” Hiremath said.
The activist sought to draw the attention of the CM to an order of the Karnataka high court wherein Singh was denied bail in cases filed against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “A report filed in September 2012 points to his involvement in illegal extraction and transport of iron ore. In fact, his involvement in such activities finds mention in his election affidavit,” Hiremath added.