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In early June, the Congress‑led Karnataka government saw a change of guard when D. K. Shivakumar replaced Siddaramaiah as chief minister. Four months later the state has been embroiled in a controversy over an alleged sting operation that targets the former chief minister. The video, which surfaced on social media and a few local television channels last month, purports to show a hidden‑camera interview in which Siddaramaiah is accused of wrongdoing. Siddaramaiah and his son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah—who is a minister in Shivakumar’s cabinet—have called the clip “fake” and said it was fabricated to damage the former leader’s reputation. Yathindra added that some Congress insiders were allegedly involved in the filming, which was carried out in 2023 by Power TV managing director Rakesh Shetty. Shetty, who is close to Shivakumar, was granted interim bail by a Bengaluru court after the city police summoned him for interrogation. Yathindra said a woman who works for the Congress and who wanted a ticket to contest the Puttur seat in the 2023 assembly elections was “hand in glove” with Shetty. He also noted that his father was upset by the episode, saying, “After 40 years in public life he has not been tainted and this has happened at the end of his political career – he is naturally upset. However, truth is on our side and whatever allegation has been made, the truth will come out through an investigation.” The controversy has been seized upon by the opposition BJP and its ally JD(S). JD(S) leader and Union minister H. D. Kumaraswamy said the sting operation was part of a coordinated effort to force Siddaramaiah out of the chief minister’s post and that the Congress high command had been misled. He called Shivakumar the “king of stings” in Karnataka after the chief minister warned his cabinet colleagues of possible sting operations aimed at discrediting the Congress government. Shivakumar has also claimed that he was targeted by a suspected sting involving an unidentified businessman who wore “Meta” glasses during a meeting with him. In an interview with a local Kannada TV channel, he said he had been the target of a sting operation. Kumaraswamy has urged Siddaramaiah to speak out against the allegations, saying that the rumors could amount to character assassination. Siddaramaiah replied that no one needs to stand up for him and that the public should know the truth. He said, “I have faith in the investigations and the probe should be done in a fair manner. Let the truth come out is my plea. We need to know who is behind this conspiracy.” Siddaramaiah filed a complaint with the Bengaluru cyber‑crime police on 6 October, naming unidentified creators of the “Karnataka Honey Trap” YouTube channel as the accused for spreading the alleged sting video. The FIR alleged that on 27 September 2026, unknown persons made false and malicious allegations against the complainant, secretly filmed a video, published it on YouTube, and circulated it publicly, thereby damaging the complainant’s reputation. On 13 October, a local Bengaluru court granted a temporary injunction against the broadcasting and publication of the video. The court noted that the recording purports to show two men and a woman in a conversation presented as a hidden‑camera interaction, with the woman prompted to make grave allegations relating to an incident around 2011. In his plea, Siddaramaiah said, “The extraordinary delay, the manner of questioning, the hidden‑camera presentation and the politically loaded caption, followed by sudden digital publication, disclose a calculated and malicious design to cause maximum injury to my reputation and political standing.” Kumaraswamy has claimed that the Bengaluru police are investigating two JD(S) social‑media workers, Shankar and Mohan, after Siddaramaiah’s complaint. He staged protests at the offices of the Bengaluru police commissioner and the Karnataka director general of police over the arrest of Rakesh Shetty, arguing that the preliminary police probe into the uploading of the video on the newly created “Karnataka Honey Trap” channel pointed to a possible role of the JD(S) social‑media team. He threatened further protests if his party workers were arrested in the case. Article source: Indian Express | Image credit: Indian Express
In early June, the Congress‑led Karnataka government saw a change of guard when D. K. Shivakumar replaced Siddaramaiah as chief minister. Four months later the state has been embroiled in a controversy over an alleged sting operation that targets the former chief minister. The video, which surfaced on social media and a few local television channels last month, purports to show a hidden‑camera interview in which Siddaramaiah is accused of wrongdoing. Siddaramaiah and his son, Yathindra Siddaramaiah—who is a minister in Shivakumar’s cabinet—have called the clip “fake” and said it was fabricated to damage the former leader’s reputation. Yathindra added that some Congress insiders were allegedly involved in the filming, which was carried out in 2023 by Power TV managing director Rakesh Shetty. Shetty, who is close to Shivakumar, was granted interim bail by a Bengaluru court after the city police summoned him for interrogation. Yathindra said a woman who works for the Congress and who wanted a ticket to contest the Puttur seat in the 2023 assembly elections was “hand in glove” with Shetty. He also noted that his father was upset by the episode, saying, “After 40 years in public life he has not been tainted and this has happened at the end of his political career – he is naturally upset. However, truth is on our side and whatever allegation has been made, the truth will come out through an investigation.” The controversy has been seized upon by the opposition BJP and its ally JD(S). JD(S) leader and Union minister H. D. Kumaraswamy said the sting operation was part of a coordinated effort to force Siddaramaiah out of the chief minister’s post and that the Congress high command had been misled. He called Shivakumar the “king of stings” in Karnataka after the chief minister warned his cabinet colleagues of possible sting operations aimed at discrediting the Congress government. Shivakumar has also claimed that he was targeted by a suspected sting involving an unidentified businessman who wore “Meta” glasses during a meeting with him. In an interview with a local Kannada TV channel, he said he had been the target of a sting operation. Kumaraswamy has urged Siddaramaiah to speak out against the allegations, saying that the rumors could amount to character assassination. Siddaramaiah replied that no one needs to stand up for him and that the public should know the truth. He said, “I have faith in the investigations and the probe should be done in a fair manner. Let the truth come out is my plea. We need to know who is behind this conspiracy.” Siddaramaiah filed a complaint with the Bengaluru cyber‑crime police on 6 October, naming unidentified creators of the “Karnataka Honey Trap” YouTube channel as the accused for spreading the alleged sting video. The FIR alleged that on 27 September 2026, unknown persons made false and malicious allegations against the complainant, secretly filmed a video, published it on YouTube, and circulated it publicly, thereby damaging the complainant’s reputation. On 13 October, a local Bengaluru court granted a temporary injunction against the broadcasting and publication of the video. The court noted that the recording purports to show two men and a woman in a conversation presented as a hidden‑camera interaction, with the woman prompted to make grave allegations relating to an incident around 2011. In his plea, Siddaramaiah said, “The extraordinary delay, the manner of questioning, the hidden‑camera presentation and the politically loaded caption, followed by sudden digital publication, disclose a calculated and malicious design to cause maximum injury to my reputation and political standing.” Kumaraswamy has claimed that the Bengaluru police are investigating two JD(S) social‑media workers, Shankar and Mohan, after Siddaramaiah’s complaint. He staged protests at the offices of the Bengaluru police commissioner and the Karnataka director general of police over the arrest of Rakesh Shetty, arguing that the preliminary police probe into the uploading of the video on the newly created “Karnataka Honey Trap” channel pointed to a possible role of the JD(S) social‑media team. He threatened further protests if his party workers were arrested in the case.
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