High-Stakes Political Feud Escalates in Karnataka

BENGALURU — Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy has leveled explosive allegations against Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge, accusing them of masterminding a Rs 600-crore conspiracy to politically dismantle the family of Janata Dal (Secular) founder and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.

Speaking to reporters following a visit to the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Hassan district, Kumaraswamy asserted that the ruling Congress leadership orchestrated a sting operation and attempted to implicate him and his party falsely.

"It is none other than the incumbent chief minister who ordered that our family be finished off," Kumaraswamy told the press. "This chief minister has hatched several conspiracies... One among them is the Rs 600-crore supari deal. There is no doubt whatsoever that he has committed this act."

The Congress party has not yet formally responded to the severe allegations.

Investigations and Counter-Allegations

The political slugfest centers around a 2023 sting operation. Kumaraswamy claimed that the state government is deliberately diverting the investigation toward him and the JD(S) to shield key individuals involved in the operation and to deflect public attention from the controversies surrounding the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) recruitment scam.

Home Minister Priyank Kharge recently announced that 80 percent of the investigation into the sting operation had been completed. Retorting to this statement, Kumaraswamy remarked that while 80 percent of the sting probe might be wrapped up, 90 percent of the KPSC recruitment scam has already been systematically covered up by the state administration.

Dismissing claims by the state home minister that his close associates had fled, Kumaraswamy challenged the authorities: "Who has fled? Who can flee? What is there against them that they should run away?"

Pointing Fingers at Congress Insiders

According to the Union Minister, individuals such as journalist Rakesh Shetty, Congress leader Krupa Alva, and their associates were directly behind the sting operation. He noted that even Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his son Yathindra had previously named individuals allegedly involved in the plot, yet Shivakumar and Kharge continue to target JD(S) figures instead of tracing the actual source.

Kumaraswamy further claimed that the sting operation was originally deployed as a tactical internal tool within the Congress party to pressure or remove Siddaramaiah from the chief minister's chair.

"We are not afraid of this. Our party has the strength to face it," Kumaraswamy declared, warning that the JD(S) will drastically intensify its political agitations if the state government persists in its alleged cover-up efforts.