Karnataka Minister claims 48 politicians honey trapped, calls for probe

In Karnataka, 48 MLAs across party lines were honey-trapped. Cooperation minister KN Rajanna on Thursday said, "There is a talk that a minister from Tumkuru has been a victim of honey trap. There are only two of us from Tumkuru, one is me and the other is the Home Minister". He urged the state home minister G Parameshwara to probe the matter.During the budget session discussion in the Karnataka assembly, BJP MLA from Vijayapura, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, claimed that an attempt was made to trap the cooperation minister.He said, “As per my knowledge, about 48 people have fallen victim to these CDs and pen drives, not just one or two. And when I say ‘one’, I don't mean only those on my side,” he said, gesturing towards his party colleagues, “they (gesturing towards the Opposition) are also involved.”
"This is a bad culture. People's representatives are being blackmailed," ANI quoted Yatnal as saying. After his name was mentioned, Rajanna acknowledged the allegations and said,"Many people say Karnataka has become a CD and pen drive factory. This is a serious allegation. It is being said that an influential minister from Tumakuru has been caught in a honey trap. The ones from Tumakuru are G Parameshwara and me."  G Parameshwara has said that a high-level investigation will be held into the matter.
Rajanna’s son, MLC Rajendra, also addressed the issue, saying that attempts to honey trap politicians had been ongoing for the past six months. “The Cabinet Minister has already given a statement that there should be an investigation. I think the Home Minister will investigate this.” Explaining the honey trapping process, Rajendra said, “They will call on WhatsApp, or a message will be there. For the past six months this has been happening. So for the last two months they’ve been trying to track this. Let the investigation be complete.”
Public Works Department Minister Sathish Jarkiholi had earlier confirmed that a honey trap attempt was made on a Karnataka minister on two occasions, though both were unsuccessful. He said that honey trapping is not new in the state and that some individuals are using it as an investment in politics.“Yes, there was an attempt at honey trapping a minister, and it happened twice. However, the attempts were not successful. Honey trapping in Karnataka is not something new. There is no need for such activities in politics, but a few are using this as their investment. This must come to an end,” Jarkiholi said.

(State Correspondent)