Sting scam: Siddaramaiah, Kumaraswamy held phone talks amid political row

Bengaluru

In a development that could have political ramifications in Karnataka,  former Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy (HDK), despite being political adversaries, reportedly held a telephone conversation over the sting video controversy involving the former.

The conversation took place around a week ago, with Kumaraswamy reportedly expressing solidarity with Siddaramaiah over the alleged attempt to damage his political image, according to three independent sources who spoke to blrpost.com.

It should be noted that a sting video in which Siddaramaiah’s name was mentioned was leaked on YouTube. Following the leak, the Karnataka government constituted a special investigation team comprising personnel from the Central Crime Branch (CCB) and the Cyber Crime Police to investigate the case.

The video was shot by K V Prashanth Kumar on the instructions of Power TV Managing Director Rakesh Shetty, who is infamously known as Karnataka’s ‘CD boy’. The sting operation was allegedly carried out in coordination with Congress leader Krupa Alva.

In the video, Shetty and others allegedly attempted to build a narrative that Siddaramaiah had sexually exploited a 14-year-old girl in 2011. The sting operation was conducted in 2023, when Shetty and others secretly recorded a Muslim woman making allegations against Siddaramaiah.

However, during the investigation, the CCB reportedly found that Rakesh Shetty and Krupa Alva had paid money to the woman to level allegations against Siddaramaiah and malign his image.

While Shetty has secured interim anticipatory bail, Krupa Alva has allegedly gone into hiding after appearing before the investigating team. The Congress has also expelled Alva from the party. 

HDK-Siddu phone conversation

Despite their political and personal differences, Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah held talks over the phone during the course of the investigation, three separate sources familiar with the development told this website. 

According to the sources, Kumaraswamy expressed his sympathies to Siddaramaiah and alleged that Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was behind the alleged attempt to tarnish Siddaramaiah’s  image.

Kumaraswamy reportedly told Siddaramaiah that he would pursue the matter until the end to ensure Rakesh Shetty’s arrest.

The sources further said Siddaramaiah had reportedly extended his support to Kumaraswamy during the conversation.

The phone conversation assumes significance against the backdrop of the public exchanges between Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy over the sting video controversy. While Shivakumar has been publicly targeting Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah has so far refrained from criticising the Union Minister over the issue.

The absence of any direct criticism of Kumaraswamy by Siddaramaiah, despite the political confrontation between the two leaders’ camps, has also drawn attention to the reported understanding between the former Chief Minister and the Union Minister.