The ongoing controversy over the alleged sting operation targeting a former chief minister has delivered a political sucker punch to the state government and the Congress party’s image. Senior leaders, including many ministers, have been caught off guard and lack complete clarity on the issue that set off a political chain reaction.
It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Congress. Earlier this week, the controversy surrounding former CM Siddaramaiah came like a bolt from the blue amid discussions over Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s claims of alleged attempts to trap him and his cabinet colleagues in sting operations.
Siddaramaiah took strong exception to linking his name to a sting operation video circulating on social media, terming it a malicious campaign to tarnish his reputation. A city court passed an ex-parte temporary injunction restraining the media, social media and digital platforms from publishing, circulating or sharing the alleged ‘sting operation video’.
Since then, the opposition, especially JDS leader and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy, has gone ballistic, launching a sharp attack on the CM and Home Minister Priyank Kharge. He calls it a larger conspiracy against the former CM and even dragged Congress central leadership into the issue.
At a recent press conference in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy, a former CM, released a photograph claiming that one of the persons allegedly involved in the sting operation met AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala.
While it is not uncommon to take photographs with politicians, it is unclear whether the person with Surjewala was an accused. The former CM has named a few people, including a journalist with a Kannada TV channel, and dared the police to arrest them.
Interestingly, while Kumaraswamy is aggressively pursuing the issue, senior BJP leaders are playing second fiddle, backing his campaign. They seem to be carefully picking their battles and opponents. In a marked shift in their political stance, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders in the state are sounding sympathetic towards Siddaramaiah, while training their guns on Shivakumar.
Siddaramaiah, who was CM for eight years, surpassing Devaraj Urs’ record as the longest-serving CM, and an AHINDA leader, was forced to approach the court to seek relief, Kumaraswamy said, giving credence to the Opposition’s charge that all is not well within the Congress.
The sudden political flare-up and bitter war of words between the Union minister and the Karnataka home minister took the political discourse to a new low.
The choice of words and tone was hardly acceptable. It started with Kumaraswamy taking exception to Bengaluru Police allegedly detaining JD(S) IT wing workers for questioning in the case, and he even sat on dharna outside the commissioner’s office. Priyank Kharge defended the police action. Strangely, not many ministers are openly speaking about the issue.
It is up to the investigating officers to decide the course of the probe. Going by Kumaraswamy’s claims, was there any need to send plain-clothed police officials to JD(S) IT wing staffers’ residences when its leader was going all out against the government’s handling of the case? Did the police start the probe from that angle? Was the video that circulated on social media genuine or fake, and have the alleged conspirators been questioned?
There are many unanswered questions. Without solid evidence, subjecting members of a political party to investigations will only complicate the issue while raising questions over the fairness of the probe. The police need to tread cautiously, and politicians need to exercise restraint.
Frequent political slugfests over the controversy send a wrong message about the government’s focus and the Opposition’s priority at a time when 226 of 240 taluks in the state have been declared drought-hit. Sugarcane farmers are on the streets demanding an increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane.
Senior Congress leaders, including some ministers, admit that the controversy is denting the government and party’s image. It is better to put an end to it sooner and move on to real issues, as the focus should be on governance and development. On their part, the opposition will be looking for potential issues to corner the government, like the way Congress did with BJP with its “PayCM” and “40% commission” allegations in the run-up to the 2023 polls.
“Such a strategy from the opposition was expected, but not this early. But it has started now, maybe because of the change of guard in the government,” said a senior Congress leader expressing concerns over the controversy affecting the party’s image.
Only a swift and transparent probe that brings out the whole truth about the sting operation controversy – not merely politically convenient facts – would do a lot better for the dignity of politics and politicians.
