Bengaluru, February 3 – In response to allegations of tapping the phones of D K Shivakumar's camp, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday described the accusations as "desperate statements from dissatisfied individuals."
Siddaramaiah rejected attempts to portray a rift between himself and Shivakumar, stating that their relationship remained strong and would not be affected by such claims. He described their relationship as "like milk and honey."
The allegations by opposition leaders from the BJP and JD(S) came amid the ongoing power struggle between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post, with speculation about a possible "power-sharing" arrangement between them at the time of government formation in 2023.
Siddaramaiah stated in a statement, "This is a desperate statement from dissatisfied individuals."
"They are trying to create mistrust between Shivakumar and me, after our party came to power. But, this will not affect our relationship, which is like milk and honey," he said.
Noting that one of the individuals making the allegation was a former Chief Minister of the state and the other was the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, Siddaramaiah said that the Intelligence Department was also with the Chief Minister during their time.
"If we look at their statements, it seems that both of them are making these allegations based on the strength of their experience," he added.
Amid reports that Siddaramaiah was using state intelligence to monitor Shivakumar's camp, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka alleged the complete politicization of administration under the Chief Minister.
Asserting that Karnataka deserves governance, not surveillance politics, he said, "CM Siddaramaiah must stop misusing State Intelligence for personal political survival."
JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy also claimed that information was being gathered about ruling party legislators and leaders through intelligence, in a "big way."
Siddaramaiah said that Congress is a party with internal democracy, and is not the BJP, which trembles before the Prime Minister, nor is it the JD(S), which is run by a single family.
"None of our MLAs are supporters of Shivakumar or me... they are supporters of the Congress party. They have all the freedom to express their opinions within the framework of party discipline, and have meals (dinner) together. But, no matter what any MLA says, ultimately, all of us including Shivakumar and I, will bow to the orders of our party high command. We have both said this a hundred times. This is the ultimate truth," he said.
"If the BJP and JD(S) leaders have any evil idea to spread false news, spoil our relationship and woo Shivakumar, I wish them all the best for their daydreams," he said.
Pointing to 'Operation Kamala' among other things that happened in state politics, when the opposition parties were in power, the CM said the state saw five Chief Ministers from 2004 to 2013 and three Chief Ministers from 2018 to 2023, because of their "mutual distrust, hatred, jealousy, and backstabbing tactics."
"In 2018, when Kumaraswamy was Chief Minister, his current political partner B Y Vijayendra (state BJP chief) had alleged that the phone of Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri math was tapped. The CBI, which investigated this, had said that the phones of not just one Swamiji, but seven Swamijis were tapped. Will the BJP simply leave Kumaraswamy alone, who has proven himself untrustworthy?
They may have also engaged spies against him. Let us remember that the people of the state have rejected both these parties because of such foolishness," he said.
According to Siddaramaiah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to control not only opposition leaders but also potential competitors within his own party by abusing his power through government machinery.
"Do such people leave political opponents?" he asked, as he asserted that neither he nor any leader of his party will bow down to such threats.
Alleging that Kumaraswamy may have learned the lesson of espionage from his father and former PM H D Deve Gowda, Siddaramaiah said, "It is in the pages of history that the Congress party withdrew its support because he (Gowda) spied on Sitaram Kesari, the then Congress party president, who made him the Prime Minister. It is a regrettable fact that a Kannadiga missed the opportunity to become the Prime Minister for a long time due to this distrust and petty things."
"I wish that Kumaraswamy and Ashok, instead of wasting their precious moments in such crooked politics, would work as a constructive opposition party and do good for the state... Despite all the tricks and antics of the opposition parties, the Congress party will complete this term and the Congress Chief Minister will remain in the state," he added.
