On Thursday, Karnataka’s Leader of Opposition, R. Ashoka, accused the ruling Congress government of tarnishing the state’s reputation on the national stage through its involvement in the ongoing honey trap case. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, Ashoka claimed, “It has been proven that Congress is a party of murderers. The state has earned a poor reputation at the national level because of the Congress’s actions in this case.”
Ashoka further alleged that phones of ruling party MLAs and Legislative Council members were being tapped, and accused the son of Minister K.N. Rajanna, among others, of making statements suggesting assassination attempts against them. He argued that this was clear evidence that Congress was willing to go to any length to protect its government.
The Opposition leader sharply criticized the ruling party’s handling of the situation, stating, “Such dirty politics does not bring honor to Karnataka. It is the Chief Minister’s responsibility to protect a minister, but instead, the Chief Minister blames the Home Minister, and the Home Minister points fingers at the Chief Minister. It’s clear this is a directionless government.” He further clarified that as a former Home Minister, he knew that the authority to hand over investigations to agencies like the CID or SIT rested with the Chief Minister, not the Home Minister.
Ashoka also expressed concerns about the state’s intelligence department, saying it was “completely dead,” with no one to address the growing issues. On the expulsion of Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, he affirmed his commitment to the party’s stance, urging unity against what he called the “misrule” of the Congress government. He also added that the decision of Jayamrityunjaya Swamiji regarding the issue remained unknown.