Tumakuru (Karnataka) [India], November 4 (ANI): Reacting to the ongoing 'sting operation' controversy, Congress MLA and KSRTC Chairman S R Srinivas said people are intelligent enough to decide whose reputation is actually being tarnished.
Speaking in Tumakuru, Srinivas said, "I do not know if the investigation by Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar, which mentions Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s residence in connection with the sting operation case, is accurate. Siddaramaiah had filed a complaint requesting an investigation."
He alleged that a 'double game' was played ostensibly to damage Siddaramaiah’s reputation.
"People are observing everything from attempts to garner sympathy for Siddaramaiah to claims that 'I myself will visit his house.' People today are very intelligent; they will decide for themselves whose reputation is actually being tarnished," he said.
Srinivas asserted that the Congress party did not conduct the sting operation.
"The investigation will reveal who stole the mobile phone and why a trip to Malaysia was undertaken. The Home Minister is capable, and the investigation is being handled competently. Legal action will be taken against whoever is behind this," he said.
He accused certain leaders of trying to project themselves as the sole paragon of truth.
"There has been an attempt to project a narrative where one person claims to be the sole Satya Harishchandra while painting everyone else as incompetent or unworthy. It is not right to speak whatever comes to mind and then try to silence others," Srinivas said.
Stating that all Congress MLAs and leaders stand with Siddaramaiah and oppose the sting operation, he defended the Home Minister.
"Since Priyank Kharge is actively involved, he speaks more frequently, and there is talk regarding the Home Minister himself. It is not right to speak in such a manner about his father [Mallikarjun Kharge] using terms like 'Dalit' in a derogatory or dismissive way. One should speak with respect. Mallikarjun Kharge is a highly respected and senior figure; it is inappropriate to speak about him in this fashion," he said.
Questioning the criticism of Bengaluru Police Commissioner, he said, "Calling the Police Commissioner 'incompetent' is that appropriate? Are they [the critics] competent, then? How many times have you who claim to be competent governed the country or the state? One must exercise restraint and stay within one's limits when making statements."
On the Prajwal Revanna issue, Srinivas said, "Regarding the Prajwal issue, no one else set out to create a CD; he brought this upon himself. A media head even stated that it was Kumaraswamy himself who produced the CD and handed it over. It is not a healthy trend to release such material driven by an inability to tolerate the rise of one's own brother's son and then pin the blame on others. Kumaraswamy is, in fact, a 'CD master," he alleged. (ANI)
"People will decide whose reputation is being tarnished": KSRTC chairman SR Srinivas on sting row
