Mandya (Karnataka), Oct 9 (PTI) Ruling Congress MLA Ravi Kumar Gowda (Ganiga) on Friday backed Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s claim of a sting operation targeting his government after he assumed office, alleging that private agencies from Delhi and Kolkata were hired to spy on the CM’s office and 10 ministers.
Displaying a pen drive purportedly containing evidence of the alleged operation at a press conference here, the Mandya MLA said 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,” he said, adding that he would urge Shivakumar to examine the documents in his possession.
Shivakumar had on Thursday claimed in Delhi that an attempt had been made to conduct a sting operation against him after he became Chief Minister.
Gowda alleged that the agencies had been operating in Bengaluru for the past two months and that arrangements had been made for their operatives to stay at a private hotel in the city.
They had also allegedly been paid money 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,” he said, asserting that no minister had participated in or succumbed to the alleged attempts.
Claiming that he had documents related to the operation, Gowda 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, showing the pen drive.
The MLA also cautioned his Cabinet colleagues to remain alert against possible attempts to trap them, alleging that the operation was intended to create trouble for the Shivakumar government.
Gowda criticised the Opposition for allegedly raising “baseless” issues instead of addressing farmers’ problems amid drought conditions in the state.
“There is a drought today, farmers are facing difficulties, and yet nobody is talking about their problems,” he said, adding that the Opposition would face the consequences of neglecting farmers’ concerns.
Asked about JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy’s statements on the issue, Gowda said he was not interested in commenting on him.
Kumaraswamy had challenged the Chief Minister to name the ‘God Father’ of sting operation against him and book a case against those involved in it.
“I will urge the Chief Minister to look into the documents we have. This is a serious case, and such things should not happen in this state,” he said. PTI GMS ROH
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.