Siddaramaiah rubbishes allegations of spying on D.K. Shivakumar loyalists

Siddaramaiah dismisses spying allegations by R. Ashok and H.D. Kumaraswamy as baseless claims from a desperate opposition.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday rubbished allegations of spying and phone tapping made by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok and JD(S) leader and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy as “desperate statements” of a “jobless Opposition.”

Mr. Ashok had alleged that Mr. Siddaramaiah was using government machinery to spy on legislators associated with his deputy D.K. Shivakumar, amid escalating tension over possible leadership change. He had told reporters that Mr. Siddaramaiah had formed a team led by an officer to spy on MLAs who were backing Mr. Shivakumar, calling it an “invisible Special Investigation Team” that was also tapping phones.

Accusing Mr. Ashok and Mr. Kumaraswamy of trying to constantly curdle his relationship with Mr. Shivakumar since the Congress formed the government in 2023, he said that their comments would have “no effect on our relationship, which is like milk and honey.” 

“None of our MLAs are supporters of me or Mr. Shivakumar. All are supporters of the Congress. Within the framework of party discipline, they all have the freedom to express their opinions individually and have meals together,” he said, referring to all the buzz around dinner meetings of loyalists of either camps.

Endorsing the Chief Minister’s views, Mr. Shivakumar said that their relation was indeed cordial. “Not only in 2023, but our relationship will be like milk and honey even in 2028,” Mr. Shivakumar told reporters.