Gali Janardhana Reddy is in the headlines these days because of his daughter Brahmani Reddy’s extravagant wedding with Rajeev Reddy. Several columnists bashed him with words. Not just Indian newsgroups, but even The Guardian has released a report about the concerned wedding that took place on November 16, 2016.The math is clear, he’s a former BJP leader, hence, he got more limelight.
Invitations for the ceremony were sent in the form of LCD devices. Bespoke jewelry, designer sets, and top politicians from Karnataka Congress and BJP attracted a lot of attention. Reddy has declined to make a statement about the overall cost for the event. But if you believe rumors, more than Rs. 100 crore were spent for the grand event. Wedding attracted a lot of ire because the common man is running from ATMs to banks for withdrawing cash due to NDA Government’s demonetization drive that aims to curb black money.
Mining tycoon Gali Janardhana Reddy is a former state cabinet minister and has spent several years in jail because of his company’s involvement in illegal mining. Parts of his properties and imported cars were attached by the Enforcement Directorate, I-T department, and by the CBI in the past. It’s obvious that his lavish expenditure on wedding event will attract Income Tax department’s attention.
Any political analyst would point out that the former minister won’t invite trouble by organizing such lavish ceremony while sitting on bags full of black money. Such grand events need a lot of pre-planning. Preparations for the wedding were probably started before at least one month. So, the announcement of PM Modi’s demonetization scheme had no impact on the planned event.
In order to find out Income Tax department’s opinion and findings, journalists from several newsgroups tried to dig out information from Karnataka as well as from Andhra Pradesh I-T offices. (He operates businesses in both states).
On November 18, the Bangalore Mirror cleared the air by releasing their report about the issue. Their story based on interaction with Income Tax officials has pointed out that Gali Janardhana Reddy is one of the four businessmen who declared their massive wealth under IDS in Hyderabad.
Politicians, bureaucrats, and I-T officials cannot disclose any information about individuals who have declared their black money under the scheme. The official who interacted with journalists on condition of anonymity pointed out that the former mining tycoon cleared his I-T records before organizing the grand wedding in Bangalore. Reddy has given a clear signal that his money is legitimate, he has cleared his taxes, and is all set to return to politics as well.
