Karnataka Congress MLA backs Shivakumar’s sting operation claim

• MLA claims a Union minister and two state-level leaders hired private agencies to target the Karnataka government.

• Gowda displays a pen drive, promising to release videos, audio recordings and photographs as evidence.

• Shivakumar had alleged an attempt to conduct a sting operation against him after becoming chief minister.

Karnataka Congress MLA Ravi Kumar Gowda, also known as Ganiga, on Friday, 9 October backed chief minister D.K. Shivakumar’s claim that an attempt had been made to conduct a sting operation against his government, alleging that private agencies from Delhi and Kolkata had been hired to target the chief minister’s office and 10 ministers.

Addressing a press conference in Mandya, Gowda displayed a pen drive that he claimed contained evidence of the alleged operation. He alleged that a Union minister and two state-level leaders had jointly engaged private agencies to trap members of the state government and destabilise it.

“What the chief minister said at the cabinet meeting is absolutely true,” Gowda said, adding that he would urge Shivakumar to examine the documents in his possession.

Shivakumar had claimed in Delhi on Thursday that an attempt had been made to conduct a sting operation against him after he assumed office as chief minister.

Gowda alleged that the agencies had been operating in Bengaluru for the past two months and that arrangements had been made to accommodate their operatives at a private hotel in the city. They had allegedly been paid to target the chief minister’s office, officials and ministers, he claimed.

“The plan was to target around 10 ministers, monitor their day-to-day activities, catch them in compromising situations and embarrass the government,” Gowda alleged. He maintained that no minister had participated in or succumbed to the alleged attempts.

Claiming to possess documents related to the operation, the MLA said the evidence would be made public soon. “Very soon, we will present the evidence before you, including videos, audio recordings and photographs,” he said, displaying the pen drive.

Gowda also cautioned his cabinet colleagues to remain vigilant against possible attempts to entrap them, alleging that the operation was intended to create trouble for the Shivakumar government.

Turning to the Opposition, he accused it of raising “baseless” issues instead of addressing farmers’ concerns amid drought conditions in Karnataka. “There is a drought today, farmers are facing difficulties, and yet nobody is talking about their problems,” he said, warning that the Opposition would face the consequences of neglecting farmers’ concerns.

Asked about JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy’s remarks on the alleged operation, Gowda declined to comment. Kumaraswamy had challenged Shivakumar to identify the alleged ‘godfather’ behind the sting operation and register a case against those involved.

Gowda reiterated that he would ask the chief minister to examine the documents in his possession, describing the matter as serious and saying such incidents should not occur in the state.

With PTI inputs