Mysuru, 23 October

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah confirmed on Friday that he was targeted in a sting operation, asserting that the fabricated footage was an attempt to blackmail and defame him. But since had done nothing wrong, he had nothing to fear, he added. 

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah noted that no such were made when he was the chief minister, adding that there were now attempts to “blackmail” him now that he had left office. 

Late last month, two videos containing serious allegations against Siddaramaiah were uploaded on YouTube. The two-time chief minister obtained an injunction barring the press from reporting on the videos. He has lodged a police complaint seeking an investigation, and two people were subsequently arrested. 

Referring to the alleged sting video, Siddaramaiah named Kripa Alva, a woman political leader from Mangaluru who allegedly associated with the Congress party, and Rakesh Shetty, the head of a Kannada news channel as those reportedly behind it.

“There is no truth in it. It is a totally concocted story. This is a false case,” he said.

Siddaramaiah added that he had full faith that police will bring the truth to light, and said that he doesn’t need help from other leaders to fight his case, a likely reference to Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy. 

Siddaramaiah’s son and Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah said that the entire operation was done to “damage my father, tarnish his image, destroy his legacy and blackmail him”. Yathindra said that Congress leaders were involved, and that Alva conducted the sting operation as she was seeking a Congress ticket. 

“I feel the probe is on the right track. But if necessary, I will demand for a high-level probe”, he added.

Following the claims, the KPCC has issued a show-cause notice to Alva. 

Kumaraswamy has been alleging that Chief Minister DK Shivakumar conducted the sting operation to usurp Siddaramaiah. On Friday, he doubled down on his claims, and alleged that Shivakumar was trying to pin the whole issue on the JD(S). Kumaraswamy alleged that Shivakumar had made such claims to the Congress High Command when he visited New Delhi on Thursday. 

“I want to ask the Chief Minister: who is really behind the sting operation?” Kumaraswamy told reporters. He alleged that a person who runs a media channel, likely Rakesh Shetty, frequently meets Shivakumar “to get information from him on how to proceed to spoil the image of Congress leaders only”.