Bengaluru, Oct 23 — Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, on Friday alleged that the sting operation involving former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was the result of internal political rivalry within the Congress, questioning the report submitted to the party high command that the Janata Dal (Secular) was exploiting the controversy for political gains.
Raising a series of questions, Kumaraswamy asked who had conducted the sting operation, who was the mastermind and kingpin behind it, and who was the Congress woman leader who allegedly assisted a Kannada media head during the filming.
He claimed that the identities of those involved had already become widely known and questioned how Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar could submit a report to the party's central leadership without addressing these issues.
Speaking at a press conference at the JD(S) headquarters, J.P. Bhavan, Kumaraswamy alleged that Congress leaders were directly involved in the conspiracy surrounding the sting operation and claimed that the incumbent Chief Minister was part of the alleged network. He said the Chief Minister was looking for evidence despite the facts being evident, using a Kannada expression to suggest that he was searching for a mirror to see a wound on his own palm.
Kumaraswamy said he was willing to meet Siddaramaiah, if necessary, adding that the former Chief Minister had once been a member of the JD(S) and that he had no objection to meeting him.
The Union Minister further alleged that influential people within the state government were attempting to shield a Kannada media channel head, whom he described as the kingpin of the sting operation, from legal action and were working to ensure that he secured bail easily. He alleged that certain police officers were working behind the scenes to facilitate this.
Claiming that the media head had been protected in several cases in the past, Kumaraswamy referred to the suspicious death of a young man named Vicky, who had reportedly worked in a media-related role similar to that of journalists and was employed at an organisation run by the accused. He said it remained unclear whether the young man had been associated with the sting operations but suggested that he might have been exploited.
Kumaraswamy also referred to reports that people working with Shetty, who had allegedly filmed and retained unpublished videos connected with the sting controversy, were at risk. He said reports indicated that a person had died under mysterious circumstances in 2024 and that the case had been recorded as an unnatural death (UDR), allegedly to suppress the matter.
The Union Minister accused police officials and the government of helping Shetty, further alleging that the accused was very close to the Chief Minister and acted as his trusted aide.
Referring to media reports, Kumaraswamy claimed that the media head possessed hundreds of unpublished sting-operation videos and that these had allegedly been used to blackmail and extort money from police officers, senior officials holding constitutional positions and other influential individuals. He displayed a media report in support of his allegations and said a complaint concerning a video involving a senior constitutional functionary had been filed with the vigilance wing of the Karnataka High Court.
He warned that efforts to secure easy bail for the accused could lead to the destruction of evidence related to the sting operation.
Rejecting allegations that the JD(S) was using the controversy to damage Shivakumar's or the Congress government's image, Kumaraswamy said his objective was to fight corruption and that there was no political vendetta behind his actions.
Responding to Shivakumar's reported remark that Kumaraswamy had written to him despite not recognising him as Chief Minister, the Union Minister displayed a book titled 'Kanakapura: BSP Struggle versus D.K. Shivakumar'. He asked Shivakumar to read the book and said it would help people decide whether he deserved to be addressed as Chief Minister.
Kumaraswamy alleged that the sting operation was being used to tarnish Siddaramaiah's reputation. Questioning the timing, he asked why the woman concerned had been brought into a sting operation in 2023 if the incident being referred to had allegedly taken place in 2011.
He also asked why no action had been taken for nearly two-and-a-half years if the matter had been known for that long. According to Kumaraswamy, the sting operation referred to a Congress woman leader and a person said to be close to both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
He questioned whether the woman who was allegedly with Shetty had been arrested or called for questioning and demanded that the government and the Congress party clarify the matter.
Kumaraswamy said JD(S) workers were being served notices, while there was no clarity on the questioning of the people allegedly connected with the operation or on the findings of the investigation. He recalled that when JDS workers marched to the office of the Director General of Police (DGP), they were asked to provide evidence.
He questioned what evidence the party was expected to submit and why the controversy was being discussed publicly across the state without clear answers. If Siddaramaiah was responsible for bringing the Congress to its present position, Kumaraswamy asked, was this the respect being shown to him?
Former legislators K.A. Thippeswamy and K. Annadani, along with Greater Bengaluru JDS president H.M. Ramesh Gowda and others, were present at the press conference.