‘Shivakumar, Kharge conspired to frame me’: Kumaraswamy on sting operation
Hassan: Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday accused Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge of conspiring to implicate him in the sting operation case involving former chief minister and Congress Working Committee member Siddaramaiah.
He alleged that the state government was deliberately diverting the investigation towards him despite the alleged accused having admitted to conducting the sting operation.
He also accused the government of attempting to shield those allegedly involved in the operation to divert attention from the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam.
Speaking to the media after offering prayers at the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Mavinkere Betta in Holenarasipura taluk of Hassan district, Kumaraswamy said journalist Rakesh Shetty, Congress leader Krupa Alva and their associates were known to have conducted the sting operation.
He claimed that Siddaramaiah and his son Yathindra had also named the individuals allegedly involved in the operation. Despite this, Shivakumar and Priyank Kharge were attempting to shift the blame towards the Janata Dal (Secular), he alleged.
“We are not afraid of this. Our party has the strength to face it,” Kumaraswamy said.
He alleged that Shivakumar was the first to raise the issue of sting operations in the state, following which reports emerged about a sting operation targeting Siddaramaiah. Since then, the Chief Minister and the Home Minister had been making efforts to implicate the JD(S), he claimed.
Kumaraswamy further alleged that the Home Minister had targeted the families of young people working in the JD(S) war room and social media wing by initiating searches and obtaining search warrants.
He claimed that the party’s workers were being treated as criminals while those allegedly involved in recording the sting operation were being spared.
The Union Minister also alleged that the police were being used to create suspicion about him and his party rather than conduct an impartial investigation.
Questioning the alleged protection extended to the individuals involved in the sting operation, Kumaraswamy asked why the operation had been conducted in 2023 in association with Congress workers and whose political interests it was intended to serve.
He alleged that the state government was not opposing the anticipatory bail plea of a person accused in the case, raising questions about the fairness of the investigation.
Kumaraswamy also accused the authorities of intimidating and harassing women members of the families of JD(S) war room workers during searches.
He claimed that the government was attempting to create an atmosphere of fear and demanded that the Home Minister explain why Rakesh Shetty and Krupa Alva had allegedly conducted the operation and whom they intended to remove from power.
The Union Minister alleged that the sting operation had been used as a tool to remove Siddaramaiah from the Chief Minister’s post and claimed that the present Chief Minister and several Congress leaders were aware of the developments.
He further alleged that the mobile phones and laptops of JD(S) workers were being seized to create evidence suggesting that the sting operation had been carried out by his party.
“I have the strength to fight this conspiracy. We will not let this go easily. We will intensify our agitation if they continue trying to cover up the matter,” he warned.
Kumaraswamy also raised questions over the alleged suspicious death of Vicky, an employee of a Kannada channel, and demanded to know why the incident had been covered up.
He questioned why an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) had been registered, why a proper investigation had not been conducted and why a post-mortem examination had allegedly not been carried out despite the death being described as unnatural.
He said he had received information that a person who had promised Rs 10 lakh in compensation to the deceased employee’s family had paid only Rs 2 lakh. He said he was gathering more information about the incident.
Questioning the police investigation into the sting operation, Kumaraswamy said the authorities could not repeatedly demand evidence from others while failing to establish the facts themselves.
He alleged that the Home Minister had taken steps to suppress the case rather than ensure a thorough investigation. He also questioned what decisive action Priyank Kharge had taken in the matter.
Reacting to a question about the Home Minister’s reported remarks that his close associates had fled, Kumaraswamy dismissed the claim.
“Who has fled? Who can flee? What is there against them that they should run away?” he asked.
He alleged that Priyank Kharge was attempting to divert the sting operation investigation towards the JD(S) to cover up the KPSC recruitment scam.
Reacting to Priyank Kharge’s statement that 80 per cent of the investigation into the sting operation had been completed, Kumaraswamy sarcastically said that while 80 per cent of the sting operation investigation had been completed, 90 per cent of the KPSC scam had already been covered up.
He questioned what further investigation remained in the sting operation case and alleged that the inquiry was being used to conceal wrongdoing and irregularities by those in power.
Kumaraswamy claimed that the government was systematically misusing officials to serve its interests. He also alleged that the person he described as the main figure behind the sting operation had been shown as arrested but had subsequently obtained anticipatory bail without effective opposition from the government.
He said these developments indicated that the investigation was being manipulated and that the government was attempting to protect those allegedly involved.
Referring to the Chief Minister’s statement that time would decide the outcome, Kumaraswamy said the government was attempting to manage the investigation to suit its interests.
He alleged that Shivakumar and Priyank Kharge were planning to close the case without taking the investigation to its logical conclusion, possibly by linking it to another inquiry.
He questioned whether the government could establish a credible deterrent against such incidents if it continued to handle investigations in this manner.
Former minister H.D. Revanna and Legislative Council member S.L. Bhojegowda were present during the interaction.
