Kumaraswamy leads padyatra to DG-IGP office demands swift action into sting operation row
Bengaluru: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday led a padyatra with hundreds of JD(S) workers to the office of Director General and Inspector General of Police M.A. Saleem in Bengaluru, demanding swift action and the arrest of those behind the ongoing sting operation controversy.
Questioning former chief minister and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Siddaramaiah’s response to the episode, Kumaraswamy asked, “Is your blood not boiling after seeing this?”
High drama prevailed as JD(S) workers joined the protest march. Police had installed barricades at the entrance to the DG-IGP’s office to control the crowd. Protesters were pushed away from the entrance and moved to a corner, where they continued their demonstration, raising slogans of “We want justice.”
After meeting State Police Chief Saleem and submitting a memorandum, Kumaraswamy told reporters that party MLAs and former MLAs had joined the march to draw attention to developments in the state.
He alleged that the state government had turned a blind eye to the matter and said the memorandum detailed the sequence of events surrounding the controversy.
Stating that the sting operation allegedly intended to tarnish Siddaramaiah’s image, Kumaraswamy further noted the former chief minister was not part of the video, which reportedly contained a discussion between two or three people.
He questioned the purpose of the discussion and demanded that the circumstances under which it was recorded be established.
“The media person in that video claims that he conducted the sting operation. But why was the video made in Siddaramaiah’s name?” he asked.
Referring to the woman featured in the video, Kumaraswamy questioned the nature of the remarks made about her and Siddaramaiah.
“The woman is asked how many hours she spent with Siddaramaiah in the video. Is Siddaramaiah’s blood not boiling after seeing this?” he asked, expressing disappointment over what he described as the lack of an adequate response from the former Chief Minister.
Addressing Siddaramaiah directly, Kumaraswamy said the issue was not merely about one individual. He recalled that the two leaders had worked together and opposed each other politically on major issues, but stressed that the controversy required a serious response.
Kumaraswamy also questioned the disclosure of information about the alleged sting operation. He said the sitting CM (D.K. Shivakumar) had stated that sting operations had been conducted against several ministers and that the matter had been discussed at a Cabinet meeting, with details subsequently shared with the media. He asked why such details had been leaked.
Taking aim at the state government’s response, Kumaraswamy criticised the Home Minister’s (Priyank Kharge) stance and said the case appeared to warrant immediate action.
He said he had submitted the memorandum to the DG-IGP but had come away with doubts about the freedom available to the police to act in the matter.
Claiming that non-bailable warrants were pending against a person linked to the controversy since 2013-14, Kumaraswamy questioned why the police had been unable to act against him.
He also ridiculed the idea that such a person should be honoured with the Karnataka Ratna award.
Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) would wait for a few days on their memorandum to the DG and IGP and decide on its future course of action after the festival.