NEW DELHI: Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said he had lodged a police complaint over an alleged “fake sting operation” video targeting him, alleging that it was an attempt to blackmail him after he lost power.Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, the senior Congress leader said he wanted the truth to come out and those behind the video to be identified. He also said he had obtained an injunction from a civil court to prevent the video from being given further publicity.“This is a false case. This case was done with the intention to blackmail me. Therefore, I myself have filed a complaint so that the truth comes out. The people should know the truth and also who is behind this,” Siddaramaiah said.He alleged that the video was fabricated and said he had never faced such an incident during his earlier tenures in office.“I was chief minister for 8 years, at that time no incident of blackmailing me happened. Now I have no power,” he said.Siddaramaiah named Kripa Alva, a woman from Dakshina Kannada, and Rakesh Shetty as people who appeared in the video. He claimed that Shetty had admitted to carrying out the operation.“Rakesh Shetty himself has admitted that they did it. There is no truth in this video,” he said.Siddaramaiah said the video first came to his notice on September 26 and denied being worried about the allegations.“After I have not done any wrong, there is no question of me being upset. No matter who sets out to defame me, I know what the truth is. There is no question of me being upset or afraid. This case is 100% created,” he said.Recalling his political career, he said he first became a minister in 1984 and had faced no such incident even when he was chief minister.“Now when I have no power, such a conspiracy is being hatched. It is true that their intention will not succeed,” he asserted.Yathindra alleges Congress links to sting operationMeanwhile, Karnataka minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah alleged that people from within the Congress were behind the purported sting operation, which he claimed was intended to damage his father’s image and blackmail him.Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Yathindra said the video appeared to show the involvement of a woman from the Congress who wanted a party ticket from Puttur, along with the head of a media organisation.“The whole thing was done to damage my father, tarnish his image, destroy his legacy and blackmail him,” Yathindra said.
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The minister, who holds the Urban Development portfolio, said the woman’s alleged involvement appeared to be linked to her political ambitions.“There is a woman from our party who is involved. As she herself says in the video, she wanted a party ticket from Puttur. Prima facie, it appears that the sting operation was conducted for that purpose,” he said.However, Yathindra cautioned against holding the entire Congress responsible for the alleged actions of an individual party worker.“Just because a party worker has done something like this, it does not mean that our entire party is against us,” he said.