We are aware that people working in the army and other sensitive areas were frequently locked up in honey traps by foreign intelligence agencies to grab sensitive and secret information related to our country.
But, probably for the first time a minister created a sensation announcing in the Karnataka Assembly that as many as 48 ministers and MLAs in the state had fallen into the honey trap.
PWD Minister Satish Jarkhola revealed in the Assembly that attempts were made to honey trap two ministers. He said that there are indecent videos of them on CDs and pen drives.
He explained that people from the ruling party as well as the opposition are among these victims. He also said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s close friend and Karnataka Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna was honey trapped twice.
He expressed concern that it has become a routine for leaders to be put into honey traps for the last 20 years. While the minister said that an high-level investigation will be ordered into the matter by the state home ministry, the BJP has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Minister Rajanna said, “There is a talk that a minister from Tumkuru has been a victim of honey trap. There are only two of us from Tumkur, one is me and the other is the Home Minister. This is not a new discussion”
“There are 48 members who are said to have been victims of this. Many of them have also taken a stay from the High Court. There are such people on both sides and now my name is also being taken. I appeal to the Home Minister to investigate this matter thoroughly. If needed, I am ready to file a complaint myself. At least we should know who is its director and who is the actor”, he added.
However, Home Minister G Parameshwara stated that he was unaware of the allegations and would seek information from the concerned department. “I will ask for some information from the department. So far, nobody has told us anything. I do not know all these things. I will come to know only when the department informs us. There might be many speculations going on, but I will ask the department to give some information,” he said.
But, the Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar remained cautious in his response. “I do not know if anybody has been arrested. Let the investigation be done. I request the Home Minister to give them protection as per law,” he had said earlier in the day.
Former BJP minister V Sunil Kumar had raised the issue in the assembly on Wednesday during a debate on the law and order situation, accusing the Congress government of running a “honey-trap factory”. He demanded that the state home department investigate the issue.