Kumaraswamy Challenges Karnataka Chief Minister Over Alleged Sting Operation, Calls for Probe

Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy took to the podium on Sunday and turned up the heat on Karnataka’s chief minister, D.K. Shivakumar, over a lingering sting‑operation controversy. He said the matter was far from a simple allegation and demanded that the CM spell out who the five ministers were that had supposedly been targeted.

According to Kumaraswamy, the story first surfaced when Shivakumar warned his cabinet colleagues about possible sting attempts. The chief minister later mentioned that five ministers might be in the cross‑hairs, yet never disclosed their names or the agencies involved. "If a sting operation was actually attempted, let there be an investigation," the union minister urged, adding that the government had no right to keep the details under wraps.

Kumaraswamy went further, suggesting that the entire episode was engineered to unseat former chief minister Siddaramaiah and pave the way for Shivakumar’s own ascendancy. He claimed Siddaramaiah had been summoned to New Delhi under the pretext of a cabinet‑expansion talk, only to be confronted with fabricated evidence that pressured him to resign.

Adding a political twist, the minister argued that the sting saga was being weaponised to divert attention from his recent revelations about alleged irregularities in the National Infrastructure & Construction Enterprises (NICE) project. He hinted that the controversy gained momentum right after he raised questions on the project's financials.

Shivakumar, for his part, has not denied the existence of a plot but says the attempts to trap him began as soon as he took office. He claims to have collected photographs and documents that could pinpoint the conspirators and says he is ready to launch a formal inquiry if the centre demands it.

The back‑and‑forth has ignited a fresh political tug‑of‑war in Karnataka, with opposition parties waiting to see whether a genuine probe will be ordered, and whether any senior minister will be named. Meanwhile, the public remains split, watching the drama unfold amid growing skepticism about the motives behind the alleged sting.