Bengaluru, Oct 13 Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into an alleged sting operation targeting former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, stating that the episode was part of a larger attempt to target political opponents.
He claimed that Siddaramaiah was a victim of the operation and it might have led him to give up the CM post.
Siddaramaiah has approached a court seeking an injunction on what he described as “false publicity” against him on social media.
“There was false publicity against me on social media. Hence, I am seeking an injunction,” the veteran Congress leader told reporters late Monday night, without elaborating.
Kumaraswamy, the JD(S) second-in-command, alleged that the controversy surrounding the sting operation had overshadowed other issues in Karnataka and questioned the state government’s handling of the matter.
“A former chief minister (Siddaramaiah) who held office for eight years was made to approach the court over the issue. He was a leader who served the state for eight years and, in terms of tenure, surpassed the record of Devaraj Urs. Is this how you treat such a leader,” he asked.
The JD(S) also referred to reported discussion of the issue in a Cabinet meeting where Chief Minister D K Shivakumar advised his ministers and party MLAs two weeks ago to be alert over the possible sting operation.
“The sting operation case should now be handed over to the CBI,” the union minister said at a press conference here.
Kumaraswamy also asked the state government to take action. “Let everyone involved come out into the open. The truth must emerge out.”
He said he would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and seek a CBI probe into the alleged sting operation against Karnataka ministers, as revealed by Shivakumar.
“Shivakumar, you have now used the expression ‘sting operation’. You watered and nurtured this operation, and the saplings you cultivated have now grown into enormous trees. You must face the consequences of what has grown out of it,” he said.
Referring to the controversy involving his nephew and former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kumaraswamy alleged that the obscene videos were distributed through pen drives in Mandya, Hassan and surrounding areas two days before polling.
Prajwal, the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and son of Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna, is serving a life imprisonment in a rape case at Bengaluru Central Jail.
Kumaraswamy alleged that Shivakumar and his predecessor Siddaramaiah had worked together to “politically finish off the Deve Gowda family”.
Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R Ashoka claimed that Siddaramaiah had approached the court for a stay because of the sting operation.
He alleged that the Congress’s internal discord was causing pain to the former chief minister, who had relinquished power.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA and former minister K N Rajanna said that the sting operation targeting Siddaramaiah could be linked to the ongoing leadership tussle in the ruling party.
Asked whether Congress leaders had used the issue to push for a leadership change, Rajanna said, “Yes, it is possible. We cannot rule it out.”
He further said that the issue could date back to 2011 or 2017 and claimed that many people knew about it.
“There is a ‘factory’ in Karnataka where these sting operations are carried out,” he claimed.
(PTI News)
