Siddaramaiah finally broke his silence on the row, saying he was aware of sting ops in the state
Asked about the controversy on the sidelines of an event late on Sunday, Siddaramaiah said: “I am aware of these stings happening in the state.” Bengaluru: Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former chief minister Siddaramaiah broke his silence on the row over alleged sting operations in Karnataka , admitting he was aware of such operations and calling for those behind them to be identified. Chief minister DK Shivakumar had reportedly warned some of his ministerial colleagues at a cabinet meeting that efforts were on to trap them in sting operations. Subsequently, Union minister HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S) alleged that Shivakumar himself had used a sting operation to get Siddaramaiah to resign and take over as chief minister.
“What we know is sting operations part 1. What part 2 is about, no one knows,” he said. He also revealed that he had declined an offer of a Rajya Sabha seat, citing his age and inability to travel to Delhi.
Making statements of ‘time will tell’ is not right,” Kumaraswamy said. Meanwhile, asked to comment, public works minister Satish Jarkiholi said he was unaware of the allegations Kumaraswamy was making. “The CM told us ministers that we could be lured and tempted. “Not the CM’s post again, please,” he said.
“The culprits must be brought to justice. He went on to say: “I may have fought politically against Siddaramaiah and might have spoken against him after he left our party. Kumaraswamy also alleged that Shivakumar knew about the operations in advance, saying: “If documents were tabled at the cabinet meeting, it implies the CM was aware of these operations beforehand. If the claims are true that people from Uttar Pradesh, Union ministers or members of BJP were involved, then it should be investigated. Why are people involved in these sting operations given police protection? It may be money or something else. He asked us to be careful and aware of the situation. At Sunday’s event, Siddaramaiah laughed off a supporter’s call for him to become CM again. He was subsequently made a member of Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body.