Bengaluru: A honey-trap scandal has rocked Karnataka politics. Consequently, a substantial amount of time was devoted to the matter in the state Assembly on Thursday.
After Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi alleged that two unsuccessful attempts had been made to “honey trap’ a senior minister in the state, Cooperative Minister K N Rajanna admitted in the Assembly that at least 48 politicians, including Central leaders, had been caught in traps. And the issue, he added, was not confined to any one party.
“As per my knowledge, about 48 people have fallen victim to these CDs and pen drives, not just one or two. And when I say ‘one’, I don’t mean only those on my side (gesturing towards his party colleagues), they (pointing towards the Opposition) are also involved,” Rajanna stated during the Assembly.
“Respected Speaker, Karnataka has been called a factory of CDs and pen drives — not by me, but by many people. This is a serious accusation. There are reports that two powerful ministers from Tumakuru have been caught in a honey trap. Now, I am one of the ministers from Tumakuru, and the other is Dr Parameshwara — just the two of us. Many stories are emerging. If I respond to it here, it won’t be appropriate,” Rajanna said in the assembly.
Both Rajanna and Jarkiholi demanded a full-fledged investigation.
“Who are the producers behind this? Who are the directors involved? Let all of it come out. The people must know,” Rajanna said.
BJP Opposition leaders joined in the discussions, its MLA Sunil Kumar expressing solidarity with Rajanna and urged the Assembly to continue its proceedings till midnight, if needed.
“We stand by Minister Rajanna. He himself said this trap has happened to over 40 people. Let the Assembly run till midnight. The Home Minister is here, let him take it seriously. We need answers… How can someone honey trap a minister?” the BJP legislator said.
BJP urges govt to take issue seriously
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka demanded that the case be investigated by a sitting judge and urged the government to take the matter seriously. “Let the honey-trap case be investigated by a sitting judge. We need to take it seriously. Let the Home Minister announce what kind of investigation he will conduct,” he said.
Senior BJP leader and MLC CT Ravi also called for a special investigation into the matter. “Sathish Jarkiholi, a senior and prominent minister, has made these claims, which means there is truth in them. Who is behind these honey trap attempts, and who is funding them? The allegation is not coming from a common man or the media but from a Congress minister. Because of this, I request the Chief Minister to investigate and enforce a special squad for the same purpose to find out the details. The opposition cannot ignore this. There should be an investigation into this complaint, and it cannot be dismissed easily,” Ravi said.
What’s the modus operandi
Rajanna’s son, MLC Rajendra, said that attempts to honey trap politicians had been going on for the last six months.
Explaining the process of honey-trapping, Rajendra said, “They will call on WhatsApp, or a message will be there. For the past six months this has been happening. So for the last two months they’ve been trying to track this. Let the investigation be complete.”
