Yathindra Siddaramaiah alleged Congress members were behind a purported sting targeting his father. The claim triggered R Ashoka's broad attack on the party and state government.
BJP leader and Karnataka Leader of Opposition R Ashoka. (Photo: ITGD)
Bengaluru,Oct 24, 2026 16:50 IST
Senior BJP leader R Ashoka on Saturday accused the Congress of using dirty tricks after Yathindra Siddaramaiah alleged that members of his own party were behind a purported sting operation targeting his father, former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his "Mohabbat ki Dukaan" slogan and alleged that governance in the state had been paralysed.
Yathindra said on Friday that the purported sting operation was aimed at tarnishing his father's image. He alleged that a related video appeared to show the involvement of a Congress woman seeking a party ticket from Puttur and the head of a media organisation.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi, is this your 'Mohabbat ki Dukaan' or a wholesale 'Sting Operation ki Dukaan'? Karnataka politics has hit the ultimate moral gutter, and the architects of this filthy backstabbing are none other than the ruling Congress leaders themselves," Ashoka said in a post on X.
He said the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee was no longer a political party but a "shameless mafia syndicate thriving on dirty tricks".
Ashoka accused Karnataka Congress ministers of using secret sting operations, running extortion rackets and blackmailing party members to secure tickets and settle personal scores.
"Mr Rahul Gandhi, is this your hollow 'Guarantee Model'? Is recording covert sting videos, extortion and stabbing your own senior leaders in the back the 'Mohabbat' you preach to the nation?" he asked.
Late last month, two videos containing allegations against Siddaramaiah were uploaded on YouTube, PTI reported. The former chief minister obtained an injunction barring the press from reporting on the videos and filed a police complaint seeking an investigation.
Ashoka also accused the government led by Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of being a helpless spectator to what he described as a "cheap, gutter-level circus".
Addressing Shivakumar, he said, "When your own Cabinet ministers expose a web of internal blackmail and betrayal, it proves your administration is rotten to the core".
"The weight of your own greed and conspiracies is crushing you. The countdown has begun and your days are numbered," he added.
The political row centres on Yathindra's allegation that Congress members were involved in a purported sting operation against Siddaramaiah, with Ashoka using the claim to attack the party's leadership and the Karnataka government.
- Ends