Cong leaders want to defeat Nikhil; even Siddaramaiah can’t solve this problem: Deve Gowda

TNN

April 5, 2019

Mandya/Hassan, Apr 5: JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda on Thursday claimed that the rivalry in Congress ranks against Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s candidature in Mandya constituency, is so deep rooted that even former chief minister Siddaramaiah cannot salvage the situation.

Addressing a rally in KR Pet, Mandya district, Gowda said: “I’ve been freed by deputy chief minister G Parameshwara from electioneering in Tumakuru [where he is contesting] and will campaign across the state with Siddaramaiah. But I’ve decided that even if Siddaramaiah seeks votes for Nikhil, it will not help. Local Congress leaders want to defeat him [Nikhil] to humiliate chief minister HD Kumaraswamy as Nikhil is his son.”

Gowda claimed some Congress leaders have moved away from the party and there is no point in visiting their houses to seek their support. “But for you (voters), who can I approach seeking votes for Nikhil?” Gowda said, while becoming emotional.

Perhaps admitting for the first time that it could be an uphill task for his grandson to win, Gowda said he had warned leaders of his party that Nikhil would face difficulty in Mandya if he is fielded from there. “I told them that our opponents could use it as a tool to hit back at us, saying we promote family members,” he added.

The former PM’s statements come on a day when Congress workers from Nagamangala declared they will support independent candidate Sumalatha, even though the party has declared its support for Nikhil. Nagamangala assembly constituency was represented by former minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, who quit the JD(S) last year and joined the Congress after he fell out with Kumaraswamy. He contested the 2018 polls as a Congress candidate, but lost. He holds the Gowda family responsible for his debacle.

Meanwhile, Gowda sought to reach out to Siddaramaiah, calling the former chief minister’s defeat from Chamundeshwari assembly constituency in 2018 “as the people’s mandate”.

“I know he is pained at the defeat,” Gowda told reporters in Hassan. “I’ve lost elections in my political career too. But I didn’t campaign against Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari. JD(S) minister GT Devegowda is also not responsible for Siddaramaiah’s defeat. It is people who defeated him.”

Gowda said Siddaramaiah is still nursing a grouse that he was not elevated CM after he vacated the post and became the PM in June 1996. “He switched to the Congress and became the CM and ruled for five years. But he lost the Chamundeshwari segment and it wasn’t engineered by the JD(S),” he said.

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SIT raids rape accused BJP MLA Munirathna’s residence, 15 other locations

News Network

September 28,2024

Bengaluru, Sep 28: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing charges against arrested Karnataka BJP MLA N. Munirathna Naidu, including allegations of rape, honey-trapping, and other offences, on Saturday conducted raids at his residence and 15 other locations across the city.

Sources confirmed that the raids were taking place at his Vyalikaval residence and other properties owned by the BJP MLA. The operation is being conducted by the SIT under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) led by ACP Kavitha.

The team is examining documents, electronic devices, and other materials related to the rape and honey-trapping case. The SIT is being supported by experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), with Superintendent of Police (SP) Sowmya Latha also participating in the search and inspection at Munirathna’s Vyalikaval residence.

According to sources, the raids were triggered by information provided by the victim, who alleged that Munirathna recorded footage of sexual assaults and used it to blackmail politicians and public servants, including IAS and IPS officers.

The victim reportedly revealed that she was used to entrap the woman who had lodged a rape case against a senior IFS officer. She was allegedly instructed to frame the rape victim in a drug peddling case.

The complainant told police that she was tasked with capturing compromising videos of the rape victim who had filed the case against the IFS officer. She claimed that, after several failed attempts to obtain the videos, the victim was drugged with sleeping pills, and obscene footage was recorded without her consent. Later, the IFS officer was bailed out from the charges.

Furthermore, the complainant has accused MLA Munirathna of raping her at his office within the state legislature, in his official vehicle, and at his godown. She has alleged that he recorded videos of these assaults.

Police sources also revealed that the victim in the MLA's case provided details of a plot involving sending HIV-infected women to Munirathna's targets in an attempt to ruin them politically and personally. She also disclosed the names of several politicians whom she had entrapped through honey-trapping.

The woman further claimed that Munirathna had threatened to have her son kidnapped and killed if she refused to comply with his demands. According to her, the MLA had a well-organised team dedicated to carrying out these honey-trapping operations, and she provided details about his close associates and relatives involved in the scheme.

Munirathna, who was in judicial custody following his arrest in the rape and honey-trap case, has now been taken into the custody of the SIT.

The MLA was transferred from Bengaluru Central Jail to the CID office on the night of September 24. The BJP legislator, however, has denied all the allegations, claiming they are false.

Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Suresh had alleged that Munirathna was trying to infect his adversaries with HIV and that the government should investigate the matter.

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