BENGALURU/MYSURU: The ruling BJP and Opposition Congress on Thursday continued to trade barbs over the Bitcoin scam with the saffron party leaders accusing sons of two Congress leaders of having a nexus with alleged hacker Srikrishna, alias Sriki. With the Congress dragging Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s son into the scam, BJP leaders minced no words in attacking the Grand Old Party.
“During the Congress regime, Sriki was arrested in a drunken brawl at a star hotel and Congress leaders know who were his accomplices. Instead of making baseless allegations, they (Congress leaders) should furnish all the details they have to the investigation agency,” Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said. Jnanendra also hit out at the Congress for linking Bommai’s Delhi visit to the scam. “CM’s visit to Delhi was in the interest of the state’s development,” he said.
Meanwhile, former BJP MLC Ashwath Narayan accused Shanthinagar Congress MLA NA Haris’ son Mohammed Nalapad and former Congress MLA Rudrappa Lamani’s son Darshan of being involved in the scam. “Nalapad was involved in a brawl in Bengaluru’s UB City when Congress was in power. Sriki was also involved in this. Later, when the Bitcoin scam surfaced, Sriki had named Nalapad and Darshan. Can Siddaramaiah react to this?” Narayan thundered.
Reacting to the issue in Mysuru, BJP state spokesperson M G Mahesh dared Siddaramaiah to come out with details of children of politicians involved in the scam. Mahesh, too, alleged the involvement of sons of two Congress leaders. “We are not making these allegations. It is the prime accused who has disclosed this before the CCB. Just like the Rafale deal, investigation into the Bitcoin scam will expose the Congress,” he said.
Mysuru-Kodagu BJP MP Pratap Simha echoed this charge. “A detailed probe will expose the involvement of Congress leaders, similar to the Rafale probe which exposed the involvement of the mother-son duo,” he said, referring to Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
“If the IT/BT minister during the Congress regime is interrogated, the truth will come out,” BJP SC Morcha president Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, indirectly referring to Congress MLA Priyank Kharge. Reacting to the allegations, KPCC president D K Shivakumar said the BJP has been conspiring to spoil the Congress’ image by reopening an old case not related to the Bitcoin scam.
“The probe wants to fix Congress leaders to safeguard the BJP. Just because they (Nalapad and Darshan) befriended Sriki, they cannot be fixed in the scam,” he said. He also questioned the timing of Bommai’s Delhi visit and alleged that some BJP leaders themselves were talking about the involvement of their own party leaders.
Nalapad, talking to a TV channel, clarified that although he knew Sriki, he did not know that he was a hacker. Rudrappa Lamani also clarified that his son Darshan, who has been looking after his family’s mining business, has nothing to do with the Bitcoin scam.
The probe into the Bitcoin scam is to fix Congress leaders to safeguard the BJP leaders. Just because they (Mohammed Nalapad and Darshan) befriended Srikrishna, they cannot be fixed in the scam
DK Shivakumar, KPCC president
During the Congress regime, Sriki was arrested in a drunken brawl and Congress leaders know who were his accomplices. Instead of making baseless allegations, they should furnish all the details they have to the investigation agency
Araga Jnanendra, Home Minister
Cong allegations politically motivated: Shettar
Hubballi: BJP leader Jagadish Shettar said the Congress was hitting out at the BJP over the Bitcoin scam just to gain political mileage. He told reporters in Hubballi on Thursday, Shettar said, “Instead of making baseless allegations, Congress leaders should produce documents to substantiate their charges.” Clearing the air over the CM’s Delhi visit, Shettar said, “Bommai went to the national capital to discuss irrigation projects. It had nothing to do with the Bitcoin scam.”