HUBBALLI: Karnataka JDS president and former chief minister, HD Kumaraswamy, on Tuesday hit out at Deputy CM and KPCC chief, DK Shivakumar, accusing him of playing a big role in making the alleged sleaze videos involving Hassan MP, Prajwal Revanna, public.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Kumaraswamy said he is aware of those persons who worked behind the scenes to bring disrepute to JDS and former PM, HD Deve Gowda. “Shivakumar has been attacking the Gowda family. But we are here to face any challenge and counter every charge made,” the former CM said.
Kumaraswamy also alleged that Congress leaders distributed pen drives a few days before the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26 and said they tried to post the content on social media platforms. “Because they were in possession of the alleged sleaze videos, CM Siddaramaiah was confident of JDS candidates losing the polls. But their conspiracy will not work, and the NDA will win all 14 seats that went to polling on April 26,” Kumaraswamy said.
Kumaraswamy said it was clear from the statements made by BJP member Devaraje Gowda and Karthik, former driver of Prajwal, that the Congress was behind the entire episode.
On Shivakumar’s jibe about another pen drive that Kumaraswamy said will expose the corruption in the Congress government, the former CM said, “He need not worry about the contents of that pen drive. I will make the contents public at an appropriate time. I will not use that pen drive to gain political mileage, as is being done by Shivakumar now.”
Kumaraswamy also lashed out at CM Siddaramaiah for constituting an SIT to probe the sleaze video case even before a complaint was lodged. “It is quite strange that an SIT was announced merely based on a letter written by the women’s panel chief, that too on social media platform X,” Kumaraswamy said.
He charged that a woman was brought to Bengaluru, and she was told what to write in her complaint. The same draft was sent to Holenarasipura police station for filing the FIR, he said.
“It was done as per the instructions from a mahanayaka (big leader) of the Congress. Moreover, this could not have happened without coming to the notice of the chief minister,” he charged.
Expressing anguish over dragging Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name into the issue, he reminded Siddaramaiah how the PM and the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj helped him when his family was hit by an “accident”, indirectly mentioning the death of Rakesh, son of Siddaramaiah, on foreign soil.
