Bengaluru, Oct 13 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday took a sarcastic dig at Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy over his allegations regarding sting operations targeting political leaders, saying time would provide answers to the charges.

Speaking to the media near Karnataka Bhavan in Delhi, Shivakumar was asked about Kumaraswamy’s allegation that the Chief Minister was behind sting operations targeting his Cabinet colleagues.

“Very happy. Union Minister Kumaraswamy has drawn the state’s attention to a good issue,” Shivakumar said sarcastically.

He said time would answer Kumaraswamy’s allegations and challenged him to produce the evidence he claimed to possess.

“Time will answer Kumaraswamy’s allegations. Whatever documents he has referred to, let him bring them forward. He has said that the matter should be handed over to someone for investigation. Let him submit the documents to them,” Shivakumar said.

Union Minister and Karnataka JD(S) president H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday demanded a comprehensive and impartial CBI investigation into allegations that political leaders and their families were being targeted in the name of sting operations in the state.

Kumaraswamy said he would meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and submit a complaint, providing the information available to him and seeking an investigation into the allegations.

He said the probe should establish who was behind the alleged operations, who conducted them and the roles played by various individuals. Those found guilty should face action, he added.

Referring to previous controversies, Kumaraswamy alleged that a former Chief Minister had been targeted in a sting operation, followed by former Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi, and later K.N. Rajanna, who belongs to the same community. He claimed that Rajanna had alleged that a leader from his own party was running a “CD factory”, but was subsequently silenced.

“Now it is Siddaramaiah’s turn,” Kumaraswamy alleged.

Kumaraswamy made further allegations that four retired police officers had been appointed at Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s residence in Sadashivanagar after he assumed office, allegedly to monitor conversations involving ministers and others using sophisticated equipment.

He claimed to have received information that surveillance and phone-tapping activities at the residence were being discussed extensively within the police department.

“If a person holding the office of Chief Minister keeps his own party’s MLAs and ministers under surveillance to secure his position, what does that mean?” he asked, reiterating that a CBI investigation was necessary to establish the facts.

He described the alleged monitoring of the ministers and political leaders’ phones and the existence of a separate system or unit to track their activities, as serious matters.

However, Kumaraswamy clarified that he was not claiming that the Chief Minister had personally ordered the alleged surveillance. He said the investigation should establish what had taken place within the departments concerned.

–IANS

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