Bengaluru, Nov 2 (PTI) Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday claimed that a union minister was pressurising the central government to initiate IT and ED action against him and his Cabinet colleagues.
Without naming the union minister, he said the former was using the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment process as a “political cover” to seek action against him and other state ministers.
“Whispers in Delhi’s corridors of power are that a union minister is desperately pressuring Modi Sarkar to weaponise the IT and ED against my Cabinet colleagues and me, using the KPSC investigation as political cover,” Kharge said in a post on ‘X’.
He said, “The RSS’s newest Group D recruit is also reportedly attempting to use the ED to pressure all accused to falsely implicate Congress leaders and me in the KPSC recruitment case.”
“It appears the extremely hard-working hon’ble minister is not prepared to go down alone. In his desperation, he seems determined to drag his own coalition partners down with him,” he said.
Though Kharge has not named anyone in his post, his allegation seems directed at the BJP’s coalition partner — JD(S)’ top leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, party sources said.
Kharge and Kumaraswamy are involved in a political slugfest concerning alleged irregularities in the KPSC recruitment process and a “sting operation” targeting former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Reacting to Kharge’s post, Kumaraswamy said that he has the capacity to fight the Congress government in the state and there was no need for him to seek the protection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“It is not necessary for me to take protection from the Prime Minister or Home Minister (Union). I have the capacity to fight this state government and the misdeeds they are doing, not only regarding this (sting operation) issue, but also the KPSC. The person responsible for all this is the state’s Home Minister (Priyank Kharge). He illegally made a hasty decision by appointing 24 Assistant Executive Engineers when he was Rural Development Minister,” he told reporters. PTI KSU ROH
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