Bengaluru, Oct 14 (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the police would investigate the alleged sting operation targeting former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and expose those responsible, asserting that the state police were capable of handling the case.
Kharge also rejected Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s demand for a CBI probe, questioning the need for central intervention and defending the efficiency of the Karnataka Police.
“This is also part of a conspiracy to tarnish the reputation of Siddaramaiah,” Kharge told reporters here.
“Why is a CBI inquiry needed in this case? What is the cause of action?” he asked.
He claimed that the CBI is yet to complete two or three cases already handed over to it and was seeking personnel from the state to complete the investigations.
“The Karnataka Police are equipped and efficient enough to handle all these cases,” he said.
He emphasised that the truth would be brought to light in accordance with the law. Siddaramaiah on Tuesday obtained an interim injunction from a Bengaluru court restraining the publication and circulation of a video he alleged was defamatory. He has also sought an impartial police investigation into the matter.
Asked about the progress of the investigation, Kharge said, “A complaint has been filed, and an investigation will certainly take place. We will expose those responsible for this.”
He said the details of the investigation could not be discussed publicly.
“We cannot discuss with the media the direction in which the investigation is proceeding, the stage it has reached, what we are doing or why we are doing it,” he said.
Kharge also criticised Kumaraswamy for alleging that the sting operation was part of an attempt by Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah to politically target former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s family.
Calling the remarks “unbecoming” of a Union Minister, Kharge said, “Whatever the former Chief Minister and current Union Minister is saying is below his dignity.”
Referring to the controversy involving former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is serving a life sentence in a rape case, Kharge questioned whether the Congress was responsible for the videos involving members of the Revanna family or the legal consequences that followed.
“Was the sting operation commissioned by D K Shivakumar? Was it conducted when Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister? The actions of members of your own family, and what they have done to other people, are their own responsibility. What does the Congress have to do with it?” he asked.
The minister further said the Congress had never pursued personal vendettas against families and would not do so.
He also hit back at Kumaraswamy over his repeated references to his family’s achievements, alleging that the Union Minister was bringing disrepute to his own family.
Kumaraswamy had on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged sting operation, claiming that Siddaramaiah was being targeted and that the controversy could be linked to attempts to force him out of the Chief Minister’s post.
Siddaramaiah has denied any connection with the video and described its circulation as a politically motivated attempt at character assassination.
The post Govt to probe alleged Siddaramaiah sting operation : Priyank Kharge first appeared on Nagaland Post.