Bengaluru: Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former chief minister Siddaramaiah broke his silence on the row over alleged sting operations in Karnataka, admitting he was aware of such operations and calling for those behind them to be identified.Chief minister DK Shivakumar had reportedly warned some of his ministerial colleagues at a cabinet meeting that efforts were on to trap them in sting operations. Subsequently, Union minister HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S) alleged that Shivakumar himself had used a sting operation to get Siddaramaiah to resign and take over as chief minister.Asked about the controversy on the sidelines of an event late on Sunday, Siddaramaiah said: “I am aware of these stings happening in the state.”On Monday, Kumaraswamy demanded a comprehensive investigation, especially into the alleged operation targeting Siddaramaiah, and criticised Shivakumar’s response that “time will tell” whether an investigation would be conducted.“The culprits must be brought to justice. Making statements of ‘time will tell’ is not right,” Kumaraswamy said. He went on to say: “I may have fought politically against Siddaramaiah and might have spoken against him after he left our party. But I cannot sit quietly when a former CM is being maligned.”Kumaraswamy also alleged that Shivakumar knew about the operations in advance, saying: “If documents were tabled at the cabinet meeting, it implies the CM was aware of these operations beforehand. If the claims are true that people from Uttar Pradesh, Union ministers or members of BJP were involved, then it should be investigated. Why are people involved in these sting operations given police protection?”Meanwhile, asked to comment, public works minister Satish Jarkiholi said he was unaware of the allegations Kumaraswamy was making.“What we know is sting operations part 1. What part 2 is about, no one knows,” he said. “The CM told us ministers that we could be lured and tempted. It may be money or something else. He asked us to be careful and aware of the situation.”On an investigation, Jarkiholi said there needs to be an affected party to conduct an investigation. “So far, no complainant has been made,” he said.At Sunday’s event, Siddaramaiah laughed off a supporter’s call for him to become CM again. “Not the CM’s post again, please,” he said. He also revealed that he had declined an offer of a Rajya Sabha seat, citing his age and inability to travel to Delhi. He was subsequently made a member of Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body.
