BJP drags Congress leader Siddaramaiah's late son into alleged bitcoin scam
Bengaluru, Nov 18: As the Karnataka BJP on Thursday tweeted a picture of his late son Rakesh with associates of alleged bitcoin scam accused Srikrishna alias Sriki, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah hit back at the ruling party accusing it of trying to hide its "corruption" and attempting to get personal to pursue "dirty agenda" in politics.
He also urged Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to order a judicial enquiry into the alleged scam by the Supreme Court judge, including the term of the Congress government headed by him.
"Karnataka BJP is trying to hide their corruption by bringing the name of my deceased son. I urge CM of Karnataka to order a judicial enquiry by Supreme Court to investigate into the bitcoin scam, including our term," the former Chief Minister tweeted.
"It has been five years since my son left us, but our family is still grieving. It is unfortunate he will not be able to reply to the allegations on him. Karnataka BJP is trying to get personal to pursue their dirty agenda in politics," he alleged.
He was responding to tweets by Karnataka BJP with a picture of his late son Rakesh Siddaramaiah posing with Hemant Muddappa and Suneesh Hegde.
"Hemant Muddappa and Suneesh Hegde had a close friendship with bitcoin hacker Sriki. It is mentioned in the police document that they had hacked a gaming site and e-portal through Sriki. Please see who is with Suneesh Hegde and Hemant here," BJP had said in a tweet with the photo.
"It is our belief that you will recognise all those with Hemant Muddappa and Suneesh Hegde in this photo. If that belief is true, the bitcoin hacking scam began during your tenure. Mr Siddaramaiah, you have accurate information about it, right?" the BJP said.
Alleging that illegal activities like drugs and bitcoin were taking place in a hookah bar at a prestigious hotel in Bengaluru, BJP further stated that people like Sriki, Hemant Muddappa and Suneesh Hegde might have "roamed around" Siddaramaiah's residence.
Hitting back at BJP for alleging that his son Rakesh was seen with Srikrishna's friend, Siddaramaiah asked, "Then how can we interpret the photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Nirav Modi (alleged fugitive) during the 2018 World Economic Forum?"
He further said, "It is alleged that an important Karnataka BJP leader had received bitcoin as quid pro quo for mediating the release of Hemant Muddappa when he was arrested with Srikrishna. Nalin Kumar Kateel (State BJP president) may know who that leader is."
Rakesh had died of multi-organ failure at a hospital in Belgium in 2016, at the age of 39. Siddaramaiah was Chief Minister then.
There have been speculations for some time now about the involvement of politically-influential people in the alleged scam after CCB officials claimed recovery of bitcoins worth Rs nine crore from a city-based hacker Sriki, who is also accused of hacking into government portals, sourcing drugs through the dark net and paying for it through cryptocurrency.
Congress leaders have alleged the involvement of senior BJP leaders, their family members and senior officials in the scam, and have accused the government of trying a cover-up. The BJP too in its counter has alleged involvement of leaders from the grand old party.
ನನ್ನ ಮಗ ರಾಕೇಶ್ ನಮ್ಮನಗಲಿ ಐದು ವರ್ಷಗಳಾಗಿವೆ, ಪುತ್ರಶೋಕ ನಿರಂತರ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 18, 2021
ತನ್ನ ಮೇಲಿನ ಆರೋಪಕ್ಕೆ ಆತ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯಿಸಲೂ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ.
ಇಂತಹ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ@BJP4Karnataka ನನ್ನ ದಿವಂಗತ ಮಗನ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಎಳೆದು ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೊರಟಿರುವುದು "ಅತ್ಯಂತ ವೈಯಕ್ತಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಕ್ಷುಲಕತನದ' ರಾಜಕಾರಣ.
2/7@Bitcoin
ರಾಕೇಶ್ ಜೊತೆಗೆ
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 18, 2021
ಬಿಟ್ಕಾಯಿನ್ ಹಗರಣದ ಆರೋಪಿ ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣನ ಗೆಳೆಯ ಹೇಮಂತ್ ಮುದ್ದಪ್ಪ ಇದ್ದಾನೆ ಎಂದು ಬಿಜೆಪಿ ಆರೋಪಿಸಿದೆ.
ಹಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ 2018ರಲ್ಲಿ ದಾವೋಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ವಿಶ್ವ ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಶೃಂಗ ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ @PMOIndia ಜೊತೆಗಿರುವ
ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ಲೂಟಿಕೋರ ನೀರವ್ ಮೋದಿಯ ಪೋಟೊವನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆ ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನಿಸುವುದು?
3/7 pic.twitter.com/7znZHXfzT3
ಬಿಟ್ ಕಾಯಿನ್ ಹ್ಯಾಕರ್ ಶ್ರೀಕಿ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಹೇಮಂತ್ ಮುದ್ದಪ್ಪ ಹಾಗೂ ಸುನೀಶ್ ಹೆಗ್ಡೆ ಗಾಢ ಸ್ನೇಹ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದರು.
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) November 18, 2021
ಶ್ರೀಕಿ ಮೂಲಕ ಗೇಮಿಂಗ್ ಸೈಟ್ & ಇ-ಪೋರ್ಟಲ್ ಹ್ಯಾಕ್ ಮಾಡಿಸಿದ್ದರು ಎಂಬುದು ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ದಾಖಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿದೆ!?
ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ, ಸುನೀಶ್ ಹೆಗ್ಡೆ & ಹೇಮಂತ್ ಯಾರ ಜೊತೆಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದು ಒಮ್ಮೆ ನೋಡಿ.
2/n#Bitcoinಬುರುಡೆರಾಮಯ್ಯ pic.twitter.com/tTxX93roGb
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
